Preventive resin restorations and sealants in light of current evidence

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Dental Clinics of North America

Abstract

My task for this issue was to discuss pit and fissure sealants and the PRR in light of current thinking. It seems clear that both procedures are valid, acceptable, and recommendable treatments - one preventive and the other a combination of preventive and restorative treatment. Pit and fissure sealant should be a treatment option provided to all children at the age immediately after eruption of the posterior teeth, particularly but not exclusively, the permanent teeth. Although there are some children who will not benefit from sealants (those lucky few who will remain caries-free throughout life), most others will benefit greatly from the prevention of pit and fissure caries. This benefit is well-documented in the peer-reviewed literature. The PRR is a minimally-invasive procedure that should be the treatment of choice for small carious lesions in posterior teeth. The Class I amalgam should not be placed as a first-time restorative material to treat incipient or small carious lesions under any circumstances. The amount of tooth structure removal necessary for a class I Black preparation, which requires sufficient depth of amalgam and extension for prevention, is so much greater than the PRR approach that it renders the Class I amalgam an unacceptable treatment when minimally-invasive options are available. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

First Page

815

Last Page

823

DOI

10.1016/j.cden.2005.05.002

Publication Date

10-1-2005

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