Causes of exodontia in the Navarra Health Service-Osasunbidea: epidemiological study

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to show the causes of the dental extractions in the Navarra Health Service-Osasunbidea. For 6 months all the dental extractions carried out in the clinics of the Navarra Health Service in Pamplona were registered. Data was registered for each extraction carried out. A note was made of the age and sex of the patient, the tooth extracted and the cause of the exodontia. The causes considered were: periodontia, caries, mixed causes, orthodontia, fracture and others. 4,259 extractions were carried out; 62.1% were on men and 37.9% on women (significatively different from the general population, p < 0.0001). The average age was 53.14 years (SD = 16.77 years, 95% CI: 52.62 to 53.66 years). 49.9% of extractions were due to caries, 33.7% for periodontal reasons, 3.6% for mixed causes, 1.6% for orthodontia, 0.7% because of fracture, and 10.4% for other causes. There were statistically significant differences in the distribution by sexes of the exodontias due to periodontia (p = 0.0001), orthodontia (p < 0.0001) and other causes ((p = 0.0009). The average age of the exodontias due to periodontia, accumulated in the front teeth, was greater than that for caries (p < 0.0001), accumulated in the back teeth. The average age of the exodontias due to orthodontia was 20.16 years (p < 0.0001 with all of the other causes).