Introduction:

The reasons for tooth loss have been well defined for several centuries. However, systematic analysis of the causes of tooth loss in the first years of the present century would shed light on the current manifestation of this phenomenon.

Objective:

Determine the main causes of tooth mortality in the last 20 years.

Methods:

A systematic review was conducted using the Boolean search engines in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and SciELO bibliographic search platforms. The search was based on the following MeSH terms: cause, motive, mortality, extraction, dental extraction, loss, and combinations thereof. The articles included were in English or Spanish. Calibration was performed by the authors to evaluate the articles to be selected.

Results:

A total 593 articles were retrieved: 16 from Web of Science, 39 from Scopus, 531 from Pubmed and 1 from SciELO, of which 26 were included in the study. A predominance was found of articles published in English (80.8%). The main causes of tooth mortality dealt with were dental caries (92.30%) and periodontal disease (50.0%).

Conclusions:

The evidence obtained in the last 20 years is insufficient to determine the main reasons for dental extraction by continent. There is little availability of articles about areas from the most densely populated and developed countries in each continent. The articles included showed a predominance of dental caries and periodontal disease as the main reasons for dental extraction.

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