Reasons for placement, replacement, and age of gold restorations in selected practices

A total of 745 gold restorations were surveyed concerning the reasons for their placement and replacement. Cast gold restorations (n = 480) were placed due to primary caries (23%), replacement of amalgam (39%), and composite restorations (9%), or due to failure of existing gold restorations (29%). The main reasons for replacement of cast gold restorations were fracture of tooth (36%) and secondary caries (22%). The main reasons for the placement of compacted gold restorations (n = 265) were treatment of primary caries (40%), failure of an existing compacted gold restoration (26%), removal of another type of restoration (18%), and repair of a defective margin of a casting (16%). The main reasons for replacement of compacted gold restorations were inclusion into larger restorations (29%) and secondary caries (21%). The longevity of failed gold restorations was recorded for 111 restorations. The mean age for failed cast and compacted gold restorations was about 18.5 years (range 5-41 years). The ages of 2564 gold restorations in situ, 1689 castings, and 875 compacted gold restorations were recorded. The median and mean ages for gold castings were about 15 and 16 years and for compacted gold restorations about 17 and 18 years.