Immediate replacement of lost teeth in a tertiary hospital, Lagos State Nigeria

Background:  Sudden loss of tooth can be a cause of great concern for patients. There are different treatment modalities available for replacing lost tooth. Demand for immediate tooth replacement is common especially in aesthetics-conscious patients. Objectives:  To determine most common types of immediate tooth replacement in a tertiary hospital in Lagos. Methods: Records of patients who attended the Restorative Dentistry clinics of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) over a period of ten months were retrieved. Demographic data including patient's occupation was collected. Clinical history including tooth/teeth indicated for immediate replacement, treatment obtained and reasons for sudden or immediate tooth loss were obtained from the records. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20 and results presented as frequency tables and tests for association were carried out. Results:  Thirty (30) cases were retrieved, this comprised of 14(46.7%) males and 16 (53.3%) females. The age range was 18-79 years with a mean age of 49.30 ± 17.37 years.The majority (70%) of the immediately replaced teeth were in the anterior region. No significant association was found between age, gender, occupation and the location/type of teeth replaced. Most common cause of tooth loss was periodontal disease (50%), followed by trauma (13.3%) and failed root canal treatment (10%). All the patients had removable acrylic partial dentures as immediate tooth replacement. Conclusion:  Removable acrylic partial denture was the only type of immediate tooth replacement, it was commoner in the elderly age group having periodontal diseases and in patients whose occupation involved frequent social/public interaction. Keywords:  Tooth-loss, Immediate tooth replacement, Dentures