Zahida Najam, Rehmat Ullah Khan, Anum Tariq, Usman Ahmed, Ayesha Aslam.
Tooth Extraction; Frequency in Orthodontic Treatment.
Professional Med J Jan ;25(3):424-7.

Introduction: The extraction of permanent teeth for orthodontic reasons has been a hot topic of debate in the past and continues to be of interest even today. There is a considerable controversy concerning extraction as a treatment adjunct which sometimes reaches to the intensity of sacred beliefs. Objective: The aim of this study was to report the frequency of tooth extraction and its pattern in Pakistani orthodontic patients. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional. Setting: Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry (AFID), Rawalpindi. Period: 1st July 2012 to 30th June 2014. Material & Methods: The study sample consisted of 489 patients reporting to the orthodontic department at AFID. Patients between the age of 7 ? 21 years were selected. Patients being treated with the extraction of permanent teeth (excluding third molars) were included in this study. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Results: A total of 296 patients did not require any extraction. The remaining 193 patients required and experienced extraction of permanent teeth as part of their orthodontic treatment plan resulting in an over-all extraction frequency of 39.5%. Most of the extracted teeth were first premolars especially from the upper arch. Association of extraction status (extraction vs non-extraction) with gender was found to be statistically insignificant (p = 0.393). Conclusion: There is a moderate frequency of extraction in the orthodontic patients with less than half of the total patients requiring extraction as part of their treatment.

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