Direct restorative material use of selected practitioners in the United Kingdom.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate, by questionnaire, the direct restorative materials used by a sample of practitioners from the United Kingdom.


METHODS
A postal questionnaire was distributed to a group of self-selected practitioners, who volunteered to participate in the study. In all 110 practitioners participated in the study.


RESULTS
The most used material for the restoration of occlusal (Class I) and approximal (Class II) lesions was amalgam with 61% and 73% of practitioners indicating that they used amalgam in this situation. Adhesive tooth-coloured materials, specifically composites and compomers, were preferred by the majority of practitioners for anterior approximal (Class III) and incisal (Class IV) restorations with compomer preferred for Class V restorations including non-carious cervical lesions and for the restoration of primary teeth.


CONCLUSIONS
It is concluded that the general practitioners surveyed in this study tend to use amalgam for the restoration of Class I and II lesions as opposed to resin composite. The majority of practitioners in this study used compomers, a relatively new group of restorative materials, with little evidence of traditional glass-ionomer cements being used routinely.
Brunton
Paul A
PA
Unit of Integrated Restorative Care, University Dental Hospital of Manchester, Higher Cambridge Street, Manchester M15 6FH. paul.brunton@man.ac.uk
Hickel
Reinhard
R
Wilson
Nairn H F
NH
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D020770:Compomers; D003188:Composite Resins; D003723:Dental Amalgam; D003764:Dental Materials; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000145:classification / Q000379:methods*; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists'; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019237:Tooth Cervix / Q000473:pathology; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000473:pathology; D006113:United Kingdom
D020770:Compomers; D003188:Composite Resins; D003764:Dental Materials; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements; D003723:Dental Amalgam