The Dental Absces: Epidemiological, Clinical and Therapeutic Aspects at the Dental Office of the Prefectoral Hospital of Siguiri in 2021 in the Republic of Guinea

Introduction: A dental abscess is a collection of pus located in the tissues surrounding the tooth roots. The aim of this work is to describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of dental abscess in order to contribute to the management of patients suffering from this pathology at the dental office of the Siguiri Prefectural Hospital. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study lasting 2 months carried out on the registers of patients received between October 2017 and October 2020 at the dental office of the Siguiri prefectural hospital. Results: 4690 patient files were identified during the study, of which 546 met our selection criteria, i.e. a frequency of 11.64%. During our study, we found 51.83% female compared to 48.17% male, i.e. a sex ratio of 1.07. 54.21% of our patients resided in rural communes compared to 45.76% for the urban commune. The age group most affected was that of 16 - 25 years old or 33.69%. Swelling, pain and functional discomfort were the reasons for consultation in all patients followed by other associated reasons in 41.21%. The premolar-molar group was the most represented, i.e. 86.70%. 80.04% of our patients presented an acute abscess compared to 19.96% of chronic cases. Antibiotic, analgesic, and mouthwash were prescribed in all patients during the study followed by 96.37% of cases prescription of steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. 93.04% of causal teeth were extracted followed by 6.78% of cases of conservative treatment in our study. In our study, 80.95% of our patients had a good post-therapeutic outcome. Conclusion: This study highlights the need for prevention and early management of dental abscesses.