INVESTIGATION OF EARLY PERMANENT TOOTH LOSS IN PATIENTS BETWEEN 10-25 YEARS OF AGE IN ELAZIĞ REGION

Objective: To determine the prevalence and distribution of permanent missing teeth accor-ding to gender and location, to investigate the causes of early tooth loss and to emphasize the importance of early diagnosis. Material and method: Panoramic radiographs of 1879 patients (1037 women, 842 men) aged between 10-25 years who applied to Fırat University Faculty of Dentistry were evalua-ted retrospectively. A standardized research form was used in the study. The patients were evaluated in terms of gender, location and number of missing teeth. The obtained data were anaylzed statistically by chi-square and one-sided chi-square tests. Results: In the total of 1879 panoramic radiographs, 569 missing permanent teeth were identified in 299 patients (175 women, 124 men). The prevalence of permanent missing te-eth was found to be 15.9% (16.9% female, 14.7% male). The most commonly missing teeth were determined as: lower first molar, lower second premolar and upper lateral incisor, res-pectively. Permanent tooth loss was more common in the mandibula than in the maxilla and a statistically significant difference was obtained. Among patients with missing teeth, the prevalance of patients with only one missing tooth was found to be 48.2%. Conclusion: Detailed radiological and clinical examination is the key in the diagnosis of missing teeth and early diagnosis is of great importance for treatment planning. Keywords: Hypodontia; Congenital missing teeth; Permanent missing teeth