Edentulousness among Patients Visiting a Dental Unit of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Edentulousness (partial or complete) is a sequel of tooth loss and is an indicator of the oral health status of a population. Edentulousness has a series of deleterious consequences for oral and genera! health. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of edentulousness among patients visiting the dental unit of a tertiary care centre. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out based on hospital records of patients visiting the Department of Oral Medicine and Prosthodontics of a tertiary care centre from 1 January 2019 to 30 December 2019 to see the prevalence of edentulousness. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 077/ 078 /40). A convenience sampling method was used. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. RESULTS: Among 4697 patients, edentulousness was found in 403 (8.58%) (7.78-9.38, 95% Confidence Interval). Partial edentulous were 263 (65.30%) and complete edentulous were 140 (34.70%). Of the total partial edentulous patient, Kennedy's class III found in 200 (76.05%) was the most common pattern followed by Kennedy's class I in 32 (12.17%), class II in 21 (7.98%) and class IV in 10 (3.80%) patients respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of edentulousness was similar to other studies done in similar settings. Since edentulousness is a preventable problem, it should be addressed with high priority.