General dental practitioners' views on the use of stainless steel crowns to restore primary molars.
OBJECTIVE
To ascertain general dental practitioners' views on the use of stainless steel (pre-formed metal) crowns to restore carious primary molars.


METHODS
Ninety-three general dental practitioners were selected at random from those practising in Lancashire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester in 2003 and interviewed separately about the clinical care they provide to the primary dentition. Before the interview participants recorded the care they would provide for a case scenario, describing a child with a carious lesion that the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) guidelines indicate should be treated with a stainless steel crown.


RESULTS
In answering the case scenario only six (7%) of the dentists reported that they would fit a stainless steel crown. Of the 93 dentists interviewed 71% knew of the BSPD guidelines, but only 18% had ever fitted a stainless steel crown in general practice. Reasons given for not using stainless steel crowns were they are inappropriate for many children, time consuming to fit, difficult to manipulate, expensive, and ugly.


CONCLUSIONS
The BSPD guidelines on the use of stainless steel crowns do not reflect the views of the majority of general dental practitioners who consider these crowns unsuitable for most children and an impractical restorative technique in busy daily practice.
Threlfall
A G
AG
DH Research Training Fellow, Oral Health Unit, National Primary Care R and D Centre, Manchester University Dental School, Higher Cambridge Street, Manchester, M15 6LP, UK. tony.threlfall@man.ac.uk
Pilkington
L
L
Milsom
K M
KM
Blinkhorn
A S
AS
Tickle
M
M
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003442:Crowns / Q000523:psychology*; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000523:psychology*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000628:therapy*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008963:Molar; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists'; D012953:Societies, Dental; D013193:Stainless Steel; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous
D013193:Stainless Steel