Use of stainless steel crowns to restore primary molars in Germany: Questionnaire-based cross-sectional analysis

Stainless steel crowns (SSCs) have shown substantial clinical success and are the restoration of choice to treat multisurface carious primary molars.

To evaluate the use of and views on SSCs for treating primary molars in Germany.

This is a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study, which assessed the views of dentists and dental schools on the use of SSCs (conventional and the Hall Technique [HT]) in Germany. Dentists were randomly selected (n = 267) and contacted by telephone, and a self-administered questionnaire was sent to all German dental schools (n = 27).

A total of 104 (39%) dentists agreed to participate. The majority of respondents (66%) do not use SSCs, being the main drawbacks: technique complexity (29%) and aesthetic concerns (23%). The majority of respondents (77%) were not familiar with the HT. The response rate from the universities was 85%. In 96% of the dental schools, the value of using SSCs is taught; however, in 27%, no practical training is provided. In addition, the dental schools' questionnaire revealed that the HT was known (91%), but neither taught to nor used for most of the dental students (76%).

Independent of the technique used, SSCs are considerably underutilized in the dental practice in Germany, although SSCs are well accepted by the universities, however, predominantly using the conventional approach.