The Post-Amalgam Era: Norwegian Dentists' Experiences with Composite Resins and Repair of Defective Amalgam Restorations.
Amalgam was banned as a dental restorative material in Norway in 2008 due to environmental considerations. An electronic questionnaire was sent to all dentists in the member register of the Norwegian Dental Association (NTF) one year later, to evaluate dentists' satisfaction with alternative restorative materials and to explore dentists' treatment choices of fractured amalgam restorations. Replies were obtained from 61.3%. Composite was the preferred restorative material among 99.1% of the dentists. Secondary caries was the most commonly reported cause of failure (72.7%), followed by restoration fractures (25.1%). Longevity of Class II restorations was estimated to be ≥10 years by 45.8% of the dentists, but 71.2% expected even better longevity if the restoration was made with amalgam. Repair using composite was suggested by 24.9% of the dentists in an amalgam restoration with a fractured cusp. Repair was more often proposed among young dentists (p < 0.01), employees in the Public Dental Service (PDS) (p < 0.01) and dentists working in counties with low dentist density (p = 0.03). There was a tendency towards choosing minimally invasive treatment among dentists who also avoided operative treatment of early approximal lesions (p < 0.01). Norwegian dentists showed positive attitudes towards composite as a restorative material. Most dentists chose minimally- or medium invasive approaches when restoring fractured amalgam restorations.
Nordic Institute of Dental Materials (NIOM), Oslo 0855, Norway. s.e.kopperud@niom.no.|Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway. s.e.kopperud@niom.no.
Simen E
SE
Kopperud
Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway. frode.staxrud@odont.uio.no.
Frode
F
Staxrud
Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway. ivar.espelid@odont.uio.no.
Ivar
I
Espelid
Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway. a.b.tveit@odont.uio.no.
Anne Bjørg
AB
Tveit
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003188:Composite Resins; D003723:Dental Amalgam; D003729:Dental Care; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000628:therapy*; D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003815:Dentists / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D003188:Composite Resins; D003723:Dental Amalgam
amalgam; composite resin; dentistry; minimal intervention dentistry; minimally invasive dentistry; operative treatment