REASONS FOR LOSS OF THE PERMANENT TEETH IN PATIENTS IN KANO, NORTH WESTERN NIGERIA.

Background: Loss of permanent dentition is often of great concern to patients, apart from the aesthetic consequences in the anterior region of the mouth, such loss has no natural form of replacement. Aim: To determine the pattern of tooth loss among patients attending the Dental Clinic at a Nigerian teaching hospital. Material and Methods: The case files of patients who attended the Dental Clinic of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano between January and December 2012 with one or more missing tooth were retrospectively analyzed. The information collected included age, gender, educational level, residential area, missing tooth/teeth and reasons for the loss. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 13.0 (Chicago, Illinois). A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 1100 missing teeth were recorded involving 960 patients within the period of one year. Males comprises 520(54.2%) and females 440(45.8%). The most predominant age group was the 21-30 years with a mean of 29.53 +12.41 years and this comprised 48.2% of the cases. Caries related extractions (65.6%) were the most common cause of tooth loss followed by periodontal disease in 13.1% of cases and symptomatic impacted tooth in 9.8%. Gender affects the etiology of tooth loss was significant with males having more tooth loss (X2=52.93, df=6, P=0.001). There was a significant association between age and the pattern of tooth loss with tooth loss due to periodontal diseases occurring in the older age groups (X2=1071.67, p=0.001). Conclusion: Dental caries and periodontal diseases still remain the main causative factors for tooth loss in this environment, more common in men and rural dwellers.