ABSTRACT
Tooth loss has been one of the major problems faced by the people around the world. Although a preventable disease at early stages, caries still remains one of the prime etiological factors of extraction of teeth. The aim of the present study was to find out the main causes and contributing factors to tooth loss. A representative sample of 400 patients attending the Department of Oral Surgery Khyber College of Dentistry Peshawar was selected. The collected information was documented on a specially designed proforma. In this study 400 patients were recruited. Out of these 204 were male and 196 were female patients. The average age group of extraction was found to be third decade of life [28.75%] while caries [63.25%] was the primary cause of tooth loss. Majority of the patients in this study were poor [46%]. Oral hygiene was not good as 40.75% of the patient did not clean their teeth at all while sweet consumption was also notably frequent. Dental caries is a preventable disease at early stages. Patient education is needed to change attitude from extraction to preservation of teeth as tooth loss is very alarming in young population