Acceptability of different caries management methods for primary molars in a RCT

• Published in: International journal of paediatric dentistry 2015-01, Vol.25 (1), p.9-17
• Main Authors: Santamaria, Ruth M., Innes, Nicola P.T., Machiulskiene, Vita, Evans, Dafydd J.P., Alkilzy, Mohammad, Splieth, Christian H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Dental care; Dental Care for Children - methods; Dental caries; Dental Caries - therapy; Dental Restoration, Permanent - methods; Dentistry; Female; Humans; Male; Molar; Pain Measurement; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Tooth, Deciduous; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 0960-7439; 1365-263X
• DOI: 10.1111/ipd.12097

Background More conservative techniques for managing dental caries including ‘partial’ and ‘no caries removal’ have been increasingly of interest. Aim To compare children's behaviour and pain perception, also technique acceptability (parents and dentists), when approximal dentinal lesions (ICDAS 3–5) in primary molars (3–8‐year‐olds) were managed with three treatment strategies; conventional restorations (CR), hall technique (HT), and non‐restorative caries treatment (NRCT). Design Secondary care‐based, three‐arm parallel‐group, randomised controlled trial, with 169 participants treated by 12 dentists. Outcome measures: child's pain perception (Visual Analogue Scale of Faces); behaviour (Frankl scale); and parents' and dentists' treatment opinions (5‐point Likert scales). Results Children showed more negative behaviour in the CR group (37%) compared to NRCT (21%) and HT (13%) (P = 0.047, CI = 0.41 to 0.52). Pain intensity was rated ‘very low’ or ‘low’ in 88% NRCT, 81% HT, and 72% CR (P = 0.11, CI = 0.10 to 0.12). NRCT and HT were ‘very easy’ or ‘easy’ to perform for >77% of dentists, compared to 50% in CR group (P