TOOTH LOSS;

Objectives: To assess patients preparedness for tooth loss. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study. Period: 1st November 2015 to 30th April 2016. Setting: The study was conducted in outpatient department of Prosthodontics, Islamic International Dental College, Islamabad. Methodology: The survey-based questionnaire was distributed among 75 participants. Data was entered on SPSS version 23 and mean ± SD were calculated for quantitative variables like age and gender. Similarly frequency and percentage of qualitative variables were calculated and presented. Results: A total of 33 (43%) patients were prepared for tooth loss, while 42 (57%) patients reported not being prepared for tooth loss. Out of these 42 patients, 49 (65%) reported being unaware of the consequences. A total of 36 (47%) patients reported being tense, stressed or sad when considering tooth loss. Conclusion: These findings suggest that interventions need to be implemented in dental clinical settings to help patients cope with the experience of tooth loss in a better manner.