The objectives of this two-phased study are to examine the relative importance of biological, sociodemographic, economic, attitudinal, and care-seeking factors in explaining the reasons for tooth extraction. The first phase was independent of the second; it is a complete study without the second phase. Phase I of this study describes the biological condition of extracted teeth (attachment loss, coronal and root caries, etc.) and the individuals who have their teeth extracted. Phase II is a study of the factors which influence the treatment choice between tooth extraction and its alternatives (e.g., root canal, crown, or amalgam filling). One of the features of the design that makes this study unique is that data were collected from biological specimens (Phase I only), clinical examinations (both phases), and self-administered questionnaires (both phases). Data collection for both phases of the project have been completed. In Phase I, data were collected from 149 dentists (81 in CT and 68 in NC), approximately 1,300 patients (600 in CT and 700 in NC), and 1791 extracted teeth (865 in CT and 926 in NC). Extracted teeth were found to exhibit a wide range of clinical conditions with a considerable proportion characterized as salvageable. These preliminary analyses show root caries to be a more important reason for tooth loss than hypothesized. Data from Phase II (collected from 58 dentists (35 in CT and 23 in NC) and 740 patients (418 in CT and 322 in NC)) will be used to develop and estimate a model which explains the factors which influence the treatment choice between extraction and restoration alternatives.
