Tooth-colored restorations of posterior teeth in German dental education

Optimizing the quality of tooth-colored restorations is one of the main topics of current research. But there is only little information available about university education in this field. The aim of this study was to collect and evaluate data about the different aspects of dental education in Germany concerning tooth-colored restorations. Based on the response to a questionnaire from 90% of all German dental schools in the fall of 1997 a detailed survey is given of the utilization, indications, practical procedure, problems and limitations of both direct and indirect tooth-colored restorations done by students. The results indicate a wide-spread use of directly inserted composite for posterior teeth in the different education programs. Indeed, the preferred preparation of the cavity margin differs from school to school. Rebuilding an adequate proximal contact and a precise fit at the gingival margin are looked upon as the main problems of class II composite fillings. Ceramic inlays are mainly inserted by students in advanced clinical courses with the insertion procedure being claimed as the main problem of this technique. The findings of this study mostly show the same limitations and difficulties of tooth-colored restorations in education as found by research. Partly different teaching concepts are reflected in the differing scientific results.