Reasons for Use of Dental Services in Connection with Premature Tooth Loss

There are many reasons for visiting the dental offices. In this study we discussed three of them preventive dental examination, defect noticed by parents and pain. The aim of the study is to find out the reasons for dental services among children with and without premature tooth loss of primary teeth. Methods and materials the study covers 140 children between 6 and 9 years old. The control group consists of 50 children and the clinical group consists of 90 children with prematurely extracted teeth. The patients from the clinical group were divided into three groups of 30 patients. special questionnaire was filled from the parents of the examined children about the history of dental visits and reasons for use of dental services. Results For a majority of the children from the control group (42 %), the main reason for visiting a dentist was preventive dental examination. Only 3, 3 % from the first group and 10 % from the second and the third group visit dentist for such a check. Majority of children from the examined groups visit the dentist because of a defect spotted by parents (53, 3 % for the first group and 60 % for the second and third group). Pain is the reason for visiting a dentist in 43 % of the children from the first group and 18 % for the control and 30 % for the second and the third group. Conclusion Majority of the children with premature tooth loss were problem-oriented visitors rather than prevention oriented visitors. dental services, premature extraction, primary teeth