Evaluation of treatment times for Class II composite resin restorations

This article describes the results of an investigation into the treatment time required for the placement of Class II composite resin restorations. For purposes of this study, three dentists made 183 standard Class II composite resin restorations, both two-surface and three-surface, according to a detailed treatment protocol. Time registrations were carried out during the treatments, and each treatment was divided into five sections, each representing one stage in the restorative process. Of the various factors which may affect treatment time, the following were studied: the dentist; the type of tooth; the type of restoration; and the presence of an existing amalgam restoration in the tooth to be restored. Following in transformation of the treatment times obtained, an analysis of variance was employed. In this study the average treatment time for Class II composite resin restoration was 41.8 minutes. The results indicated that the factors mentioned above significantly affect the treatment time. In addition, the treatment time of one of the dentists was influenced by a marked learning effect.