Attitudes, practice, and experience of German dentists regarding repair restorations

The aim of the present study was to perform a representative survey among German dentists about attitudes, practice, and experience regarding single-tooth repair restorations.

An anonymous questionnaire was designed and mailed to all registered dentists in Lower Saxony (n = 6600). Twenty-eight percent were returned (n = 1852), and n = 1805 could be analyzed. Statistical analyses were done by Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and ordered logistic regressions (p < 0.05).

Only 2.2 % of the dentists declared to never perform repair restorations. Composite restorations were repaired significantly more often than all other materials. Frequency of performing repair restorations was partially associated to dentist-related factors. The decision for repairing a restoration was dependent on several tooth- and restoration-associated variables. The main indications for repair were the partial loss of restoration or adjacent tooth structure as well as chipping and endodontic access cavities of crowns. Repair restorations were mostly done with composite using various different preconditioning techniques. Overall patients' acceptance was reported to be high. Most of the dentists considered repair restorations as permanent restoration with a moderate to high longevity. Estimated success of repair restorations depended significantly on the dentists' experiences (frequency and techniques of repair restorations).

Repair restorations were often performed and were well accepted by dentists and patients, but indications for repair restorations as well as applied materials and techniques varied distinctly.

Repairs of single-tooth restorations are well accepted and frequently performed, but indications, techniques, and materials require further research.