Placement and longevity of tooth-colored restorations in Denmark

A survey has been made of the use of materials and the reasons for placement of 2542 tooth-colored restorations in Denmark. In adults 38% of all the restorations were inserted because of primary caries, and 62% were replacements of failed restorations. In children primary caries was the reason for placing 68% of the restorations in deciduous teeth and 77% of those in permanent teeth. Resin-based materials were the most frequently used tooth-colored restorative, except in the treatment of deciduous teeth, for which glass ionomer cement was used preferentially. Silicate cement was used for less than 2% of the tooth-colored restorations, and the few old silicate cement restorations were most often replaced with resin materials. The reasons for replacement of resin restorations were dependent on dentition, age of the patient, and type of restoration. Secondary caries, fracture of restoration, and loss of fillings were the most frequently recorded failures. The age of the resin restorations replaced ranged from 0 to 19 years, and half of the failed restorations in adults were more than 6 years old. In permanent teeth in children half of the failed resin restorations were replaced within 2 years, whereas half of those in primary teeth were replaced within 1 year.