483 - Interim Esthetic Restorations for Carious Anterior Teeth: A Pilot Study

Purpose: Traditional restorative procedures for carious primary incisors are technique sensitive and require cooperation. Access to pharmacological behavior guidance options such as general anesthesia can often be difficult as hospital availability, long waitlists, and parental preferences regarding sedation can create barriers. Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is a commonly proposed interim option for caries management. However, due to permanent dark staining, SDF may raise esthetic concerns. The purpose of this study is to determine if strip crowns filled with resin-modified glass ionomer (RMGI) are: 1) effective for caries management and 2) acceptable to parents as an esthetic, interim therapeutic restoration.



Methods: Children ages 3 to 5 years old with supragingival, multi-surface carious lesions on maxillary primary incisors were recruited. One or more carious maxillary primary incisors per patient were treated with RMGI strip crowns in an atraumatic manner (no local anesthesia and no tooth preparation). Effectiveness of the restorative technique was measured by restoration marginal integrity and absence of pathology at 3, 6, and 12 month follow up visits. Parental acceptance was measured with a questionnaire completed following treatment and at each follow up visit. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square.



Results: Data collection is ongoing and analysis will be completed when a sample size of approximately twenty patients is obtained.



Conclusion: This study will contribute to developing more esthetic strategies to manage early childhood caries.


Identify Supporting Agency and Grant Number: