Patient and practitioner perspectives on tooth extractions without clinical justification.

Area of Science:

• Oral surgery
• Dental ethics
• Patient-practitioner communication

Background:

• Nondental factors like financial, psychological, or cultural issues can influence tooth extraction requests.
• Understanding patient perspectives on extractions without clear clinical indications is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare patient and practitioner views on tooth extraction requests lacking valid clinical indications.
• To assess the alignment between patient-reported and professional assessments of extraction motivations.

Main Methods:

• Prospective observational study involving dentists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMFS) in the Netherlands.
• Included patients aged 18+ requesting non-third molar permanent tooth extractions.
• Data collected via questionnaires from patients, dentists, and OMFS.

Main Results:

• Patients reported nondental reasons for extraction more frequently (7.1% dental, 3.5% OMFS) than practitioners (1.6% dentists, 1.7% OMFS).
• Over 96% of extraction requests were granted.
• Extractions were withheld when both patient and practitioner cited exclusively nondental reasons.

Conclusions:

• Patients more frequently reported nondental motivations for extraction than dental professionals.
• No extractions were performed solely for nondental reasons, supporting adherence to ethical dental practice standards.