Reasons behind permanent tooth extraction at a dental university hospital in Morocco: a survey among patients of the International Faculty of Dental Medicine of Rabat.

INTRODUCTION: this cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the factors contributing to tooth extractions and possible correlations between tooth loss and various variables. METHODS: the study took place at the dental university hospital affiliated with the International University of Rabat over a period of two months (December 15(th), 2020, to February 15(th), 2021). The data collected has been recorded from patients who had tooth extraction procedures. The variables analyzed included age, gender, and the reason for extraction. To analyze the significance of the variables Chi-square test was used, and to investigate the variance in the mean number of teeth extracted per patient ANOVA was used. RESULTS: in 159 patients with different ages, a total of 586 permanent teeth were extracted. Men had an extraction rate of 54.5% while women formed 45.5%. Overall, the most frequent reason for tooth extraction was caries (46.28%), and periodontal diseases (44.90%). Other reasons for extraction included prosthetics (4.31%) and aesthetics (2.7%). However, orthodontics reasons were not observed. The topmost tooth extraction rate per patient was seen in the 41 to 50-year-old age group with a mean of 4.22 teeth. Analysis of the reasons for extraction by gender did not show a statistically significant difference (p>0.29). CONCLUSION: caries and periodontal disease were the main causes of tooth extractions. Improving oral prevention health programs can help patients maintain healthier and functional oral health throughout their lives.