Attitudes of dentists toward maintaining, repairing, or replacing direct composite resin restorations.

This study aimed to report the reasons for replacement of direct composite resin restorations in dental practices in Brazil. The study used a convenience sample of 213 dentists. A questionnaire was developed from previously validated instruments and sent electronically to prospective participants. The questions pertained to professional characteristics; criteria most frequently used in determining whether a direct composite resin restoration warranted replacement; and respondents' choice of treatment options (maintain, repair, or replace the restoration) in various clinical scenarios based on FDI World Dental Federation evaluation criteria, which are categorized into 3 groups: esthetic, functional, and biological properties. The descriptive statistical analysis was conducted using percentage frequencies, and associations between variables were tested using chi-square tests (α = 0.05). According to 47.9% of respondents, staining was the esthetic property that most often warranted replacement. For the functional property, 53.8% of respondents reported that fracture of material and retention was the most important factor indicating the need for replacement. For the clinical scenarios, 41.7% of respondents chose restoration replacement when evaluating esthetic properties, 59.8% when evaluating functional properties, and 64.4% when evaluating biological properties. Replacement, rather than maintenance or repair, was the most frequently reported clinical decision, and the dentists' professional profiles influenced treatment recommendations, with specialists exhibiting a slightly lower frequency of recommendations for replacement of direct composite resin restorations.

Avaliaçäo da eficácia do selante na prevençäo da cárie oclusal após três anos de aplicaçäo em escolares da Rede Pública de Goiânia-GO / Effectiveness of fissure sealant in preventing occlusal caries: report aftter three years of a single application in school children attending public schools in Goiânia-GO, Brazil

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a eficácia do selante como método preventivo da cárie em saúde pública. Para isso, avaliou-se a retençäo do selante após três anos de uma única aplicaçäo em escolares da rede pública de Goiânia-GO, beneficiados pela Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade Federal de Goiás. Verificou-se que 37,3 por cento dos selantes encontravam-se totalmente retidos, 19,3 por cento, parcialmente retidos e 43,5 por cento, totalmente perdidos. A retençäo foi melhor nos pré-molares do que nos primeiros molares(p<0,05), e näo houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre as arcadas superior e inferior. Todos os dentes que apresentam retençäo total do selante e quase a metade (48,6 por cento) dos dentes com perda total permaneceram hígidos. Comparando-se dois grupos de escolares com e sem selante, observou-se que houve um menor ataque de cárie oclusal nos molares dos escolares que receberam selante há três anos. Em relaçäo aos pré-molares, näo houve diferença estatísticamente significante. Concluiu-se que, embora os percentuais de relaçäo tenham sido baixos, o selante foi eficaz na prevençäo da cárie oclusal, especialmente em molares