Reasons for extraction in primary teeth among 5-12 years school children in Haryana, India- A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Due to high prevalence of oral diseases extraction of primary teeth is a common and a major concern in developing countries. These teeth are given least importance as they are believed to shed off automatically, thus leading to serious problems like crowding and malocclusion. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out among children aged 5 to 12 years among 1347 children. The data was recorded on a prestructured questionnaire. Reasons for extraction of teeth were based on Kay and Blinkhorn criteria. RESULTS: 20.4% children were having tooth loss due to various reasons. The main reason for extraction was found to be caries in 64.3% followed by trauma in maxillary teeth among 43.02% of children. CONCLUSIONS: Presence of early loss of primary teeth result in occlusal disturbances and space loss among children. Hence, proper treatment regimens must be followed by the dental professionals and should be the need of the hour. Key words:Extraction, children, primary teeth, caries.