RESUMEN
Objective: the objective of this multicenter survey was to determine the causes of tooth loss among patients who attended the National Guard Primary Health Care Centers [PHCC] of Saudi Arabia over a period of three months
Patients and methods: the forms of three hundred and nine patients who had 362 extractions were received after the study period
Results: teeth extractions due to caries, periodontal diseases, orthodontic and prosthodontic treatments were 72.7%, 14.9%, 3.6% and 8% respectively. Other reasons, like impaction, trauma pericardia and on-patient- request had less than 5% of the cases. The first and third molars showed higher frequency of extractions, whilst incisors and canines showed the least number of extractions. Females showed significantly higher extractions due to caries and orthodontic treatments, whilst males shown significantly higher frequency due to periodontal diseases and prosthodontic treatments
Conclusions: caries was the leading cause of extractions up to the age of 50 years, and then periodontitis became the main cause