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Loss of Tooth Structure After Successive Removal of Temporary Restorative Materials by Dental Students Between
Márcia Cunha1, Andressa Galzer Dos Santos1, Roberto Zimmer1
1Universidade Feevale, Novo Hamburgo, RS, Brazil.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the loss of tooth structure after the removal of temporary restorative materials between endodontic treatment sessions performed by undergraduate students.
Methods:
Twenty human molar teeth underwent endodontic coronal access and were randomly divided into two groups. One group received a temporary restoration with zinc oxide and calcium sulfate-based temporary cement (ZNO) alone, while the other group was restored with a combination of zinc oxide and calcium sulfate-based cement at the base of the restoration, and conventional glass ionomer cement as the outer layer (GIC). Every week, four trained undergraduate dental students performed the coronal reopening of the teeth. The teeth were individually weighed after the coronal access and after each removal of the temporary restoration. This process was carried out for 4 weeks. After the fourth week, two specialists in restorative dentistry fully removed any remaining temporary materials and finished the cavity.
Results:
The average tooth mass variation was calculated at each removal stage. Linear regression analysis was performed to assess the variation in tooth mass as a function of the interventions. The final percentage mass variation was -1.946 (±1.096) for the teeth restored with ZNO, and -1.841 (±0.918) for those restored with ZNO + GIC. Every temporary filling removal presented a negative variation in tooth mass of 0.37% for ZNO, and of 0.63% for teeth restored with ZNO + GIC, respectively.
Conclusions:
Successive removals of temporary restorative materials led to loss of dental structure. When comparing temporary restorations made with ZNO + GIC and ZNO, no differences in the lost mass were observed.
