ANTERIOR UNITARY EDENTULISM: TREATMENT DECISIONS BY ODONTOSTOMATOLOGISTS IN THE CITY OF MAHAJANGA

Anterior unitary edentulism is the absence of a tooth in the anterior region, which affects patients psychologically. Therapeutics are varied, but odontostomatologists sometimes find it difficult to reach a decision due to various parameters. The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic decisions made by odontostomatologists in Mahajanga. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out among 50 odontostomatologists in the city of Mahajanga between July 2022 and July 2023. Odontostomatologists registered in the national order who practised dental prosthesis and who agreed to be surveyed were included in this study, and those with incorrectly completed forms and who were not resident in Mahajanga were excluded. The sample was 56.36% male and 43.64% female. Resin partial dentures were the most frequently proposed (100%) and practiced (96%) prosthesis, followed by conventional bridges (32%) and bonded two-wing bridges (14%). This therapeutic decision was significantly related to patients\' financial means (p=0.001), strongly related to patient occlusion (p=0.000) and significantly related to practitioners\' prosthetic knowledge and skills (p=0.044). Practitioners in Mahajanga had done very little fixed prosthodontics. However, dental implants and cantilever bonded bridges are the most indicated in cases of anterior single-tooth edentulism, as they are tissue-sparing.