Oral Health Determinants and Demographic Factors of Permanent Tooth Extraction in Iranian Adults

Abstract

Preservation of teeth until old ages indicates oral health status. Improving life expectancy in developing countries makes teeth care an important topic. This study assessed reasons of tooth extraction (TE), oral health determinants and demographic factors of permanent TE in Iranian adults. Adult people who referred to dental clinic of Mashhad Medical University in 2012 for dental extraction and lived in Mashhad city, participated in this study by convenient sampling method after obtaining informed consent. Demographic characteristics, oral health status, health habit and reasons of TE of participants were assessed. Data were analyzed by SPSS11.5 by Chi-Square, T-Test, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney and Kruskall-Wallis tests. Totally 254 people participated (383 extracted teeth) that 55% were female. Mean age of participants was 39.3 years; females were 6.1 years younger than males. The main reason of TE was dental caries (55.1%), following by impaction. There was significant difference between average times of tooth brushing in both sexes, but difference was not shown in sugar intake. Except in people with college degrees that dental caries is the main cause of TE. With increase in life expectancy to more than 70 years old in Iranian, the age of TE especially in women is younger than expected. The most common cause of TE is dental caries that seem in spite of improving health indexes in Iran, poor oral hygiene remains as a problem. There is no significant difference between frequency of sugar intake and level of education that indicates unhealthy dietary habits related to tooth decay.