What's New in the Benefits of Restoring Primary Teeth?

Another study [5] , a randomized controlled clinical trial in Scotland, showed that the conventional caries treatment of primary teeth seems unjustified. This trial used a specific new ‘Hall’ technique [6] , a simplified method of using preformed metal crowns cemented with no local anaesthesia, caries removal or tooth preparation. The study was a GDP-based, split-mouth randomized controlled trial of 132 children, aged 3–10 years, and compared the acceptability and clinical outcome of the Hall technique with conventional restorations. This technique was preferred to conventional restorations by the majority of children, caregivers and GDPs and showed better outcomes for pulpal health and longevity of restorations than conventional restorations. The results were expected according to the current paradigm of caries aetiology [7] , where carious tooth tissue does not need to be removed but rather isolated from the oral environment. This had been shown earlier by a prospective study of sealing the occlusal dentine caries lesions, where the caries did not progress [8] .