Long-term Performance of Refurbished Amalgam Restorations: 10-year Follow-up.

Area of Science:

• Dental materials science
• Clinical dentistry
• Restorative dentistry

Background:

• Amalgam restorations are widely used but can develop defects over time.
• Assessing the long-term outcomes of managing defective amalgam restorations is crucial for clinical decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the 10-year clinical performance of refurbished, replaced, or untreated amalgam restorations with defects.
• To evaluate the efficacy of different management strategies for defective amalgam restorations.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, blinded clinical trial involving 63 defective amalgam restorations in 23 patients (ages 18-80).
• Restorations were randomly assigned to refurbishment, replacement, or no treatment groups.
• Evaluations were conducted at baseline and after 10 years using USPHS criteria, assessing eight clinical parameters.

Main Results:

• After 10 years, 49 restorations were assessed; all three groups demonstrated similar clinical performance across all evaluated parameters.
• No statistically significant differences were found in anatomy, roughness, luster, secondary caries, marginal adaptation, occlusal contact, marginal staining, or tooth sensitivity between groups.
• Survival analysis indicated comparable outcomes for refurbished, replaced, and untreated restorations.

Conclusions:

• Defective amalgam restorations (anatomic form, roughness, luster) managed by refurbishment, replacement, or no treatment exhibited similar clinical performance over a decade.
• The majority of restorations in all groups were deemed clinically acceptable after 10 years.
• A general trend of deterioration was observed across all management strategies over the study period.