Source
Institute of Dentistry, Department of Oral Public Health, University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.
Abstract
Abstract
Objective. This study aimed at evaluating dentists' perceived
reasons for replacement of restorations and ascertaining the differences
arising from dentists' gender, time since graduation and working sector
(salaried vs private). Materials and methods. A postal questionnaire
was sent to a total of 592 working-age general dental practitioners in
Finland, 57% (n = 339) responded. The dentists were asked to rank in
order of priority the six most common reasons for replacement of
composite in the incisors and posterior teeth and amalgam in the
posterior tooth from a list of 12 reasons. Ranking order 1 was worth six
points and order 6 one point; the non-ranked reasons were equal to
zero. Differences in the means of the summed scores of caries-related
(RC), fracture- and failure-related (RF) and miscellaneous (RO) groups
were evaluated by ANOVA. The level of significance was set at p = 0.05.
Results. For each of three restorations, the RF group comprised 48-56%
of the sum-scores. Of the single reasons, secondary caries predominated
(20-24%). For composite restorations in the incisors, the mean
sum-score of the RO group was greater for private-sector dentists (p =
0.04). For composite restorations in the posterior teeth, the mean
sum-score of RF group was higher for male than female dentists (p =
0.009). For amalgam, mean score for RF was 10.2, followed by RC (8.5)
and RO (1.1). Conclusion. Secondary caries and various fractures and
failures predominate as dentists' perceived reasons for replacement of
restorations. Private dentists included miscellaneous reasons as one of
their six reasons more often than did the salaried dentists. The complex
process of treatment planning and decision-making is influenced by many
as of yet unknown factors, calling for emphasis on investigating of
perceptions.
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