Asian Journal of Dental Sciences

Background: Tooth loss though preventable is still considered as a natural consequence of senility as it limits a person's esthetics, function and psychosocial well-being. In order to restore these deficits, dental prosthetics are needed. The objective of the current study was to describe oral prosthetic needs of patients attending dental clinics in the city of Ngaoundéré-Cameroon.

Methodology: This was a descriptive cross sectional carried out in the city of Ngaoundéré between January to June 2019 using structured questionnaires. A WHO questionnaire was used for evaluating the prosthetic needs.

Results: A total of 266 participants made up of 54.9% males and 45.1% females were recruited in the study. The 25 to 34 age range was more predominant with a frequency of 41%.The prevalence of partial edentulousness was 99.2 % while that of total tooth loss was 0.8%.  A third of the edentulous space  31.6% was in the maxilla and 44.4% in the mandible. The average number of tooth lost was 2 teeth and most of the teeth lost were molars. More than half 115 (43.2%) participants perceived the needed oral rehabilitation. From clinical examination, 4(2.6%) did not need oral rehabilitation, 37(24.9%)  needed one unit prosthesis like dental implants  in the mandible and 31(20.3 ) in the maxilla, 118 (77.2%)  needed multi unit prosthesis in the maxilla and 95(62.9) in the mandible, and 2 (1.3%) needed full prosthesis (replacement of all teeth) e.g.  implant retained full dentures. The relationship between the prevalence of edentulousness , marital status , and socio-cultural factors were statistically significant.

Conclusion: The average number of teeth lost was 2 teeth and the most lost types of teeth were molars. Partial edentulousness was higher than that of total. Kennedy class III was the most common. Financial difficulties were the main reason for the lack of prosthetic rehabilitation. Three quarter of the respondents needed prosthesis with Code 1 and code 2 WHO prosthetic needs.