Reasons for tooth loss in Blacks on the Witwatersrand.

Reasons for tooth loss is a crude index o f the dental health of a community, and was determined in a sample o f 600 Blacks on the Witwatersrand. Dental caries with or with­ out concurrent pathology was responsible for 67 per cent of tooth loss, periodontal disease for 19 per cent, trauma for 5 per cent, impacted teeth for 3 per cent and prosthetic reasons for 2 per cent. Dental caries was the most com­ mon reason for tooth loss in all age groups except for the group over 65 years where periodontal disease was most common. OPSOMMING