G.A. Chukwu, O.A. Adeleke, I.S. Danfillo, E.C. Otoh

Objective: To determine the effect of tooth morphology and positioning on the occurrence of dental caries in permanent teeth. Design: Retrospective study. Method: Data was extracted from the case notes of patients that underwent extraction at the Plateau State Dental Centre, Jos, Nigeria from January 2000 to December 2001, as a result of dental caries and its sequalae. Result: 12696 patients attended the clinic, with a total of 11546-teeth extracted. 6145 (53.2%) permanent teeth were extracted due to caries and it’s sequalae within the period under review. The upper anteriors accounted for 3.2%, pre-molars 7.7% and molars 29.8% while lower anteriors accounted for 0.4%, pre-molars 3.3% and molars 55.6%. The upper anteriors were eight times more vulnerable to caries attack compared to their corresponding lower anteriors. The upper right (43.3%) and left (36.9%) first premolars were four times prone to losses due to caries compared to their corresponding lower right (11.5%) and left (8.3%) first premolars. Similar pattern was observed for the upper and lower second premolar (P = 0.001). The lower right (31.3%) and left (31.3%) first molar were about two times more susceptible to caries than their corresponding upper right (18.2%) and left (19.2%) first molar. The same trend holds for the second and third molars (P = 0.000). Conclusion: The result of this study revealed that the upper premolars were more susceptible to dental caries than the corresponding lower teeth. The study also revealed that the molars were most susceptible to dental caries and would benefit from the use of prophylactic pits and fissure sealants.

Key words: Tooth morphology, extraction, fissure sealant, caries

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Correspondence: Dr. G. A. Chukwu

Regional Center for Oral Health Research and Training Initiatives (RCORTI) For Africa, (In collaboration with World Health Organization), No. 3 CBN Road, P.M.B. 2067, Plateau State, Jos, Nigeria. Tel: 234 73 463859, Fax: 234 73 462901, Email: