A 12-year retrospective audit study of tooth loss in a general dental practice.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the incidence of periodontal disease in a general dental practice, and to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment in preventing tooth loss over a period of 12 years.

DESIGN

This was a single centre retrospective analysis.

SETTING

A general dental practice in Bournemouth.

SUBJECTS AND

METHODS

Over a 6-month period from February 1997 to August 1997 records were made of all patients attending at the practice who had presented for dental examination between September 1985 and September 1986. A database was constructed to record the number of teeth present at the beginning of the study, those which at their initial exam had probing depths of between 5 and 6 mm, and those with 7 mm and greater. If teeth were lost, the date of the extraction was recorded.

INTERVENTIONS: All patients were treated by conventional dental therapy.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Tooth loss was chosen as the end-point.

RESULTS

13% of the patients presenting initially had periodontal problems, and conventional treatment resulted in very few teeth being lost over the study period.

CONCLUSIONS

Periodontal disease affected only a small number of the patients in the general dental practice. Those patients affected responded well to conventional therapy, resulting in very few teeth being lost during the period of study.