Not yet sufficient use of MID in France
– Patients may be subjected to possible overtreatment, as well as too aggressive forms of treatments.
– We still need collective and individual efforts to promote repair, and the road of minimal invasive dentistry, Staxrud says.
A recent study indicated that a significant proportion of French GDPs do not consider repair when it comes to defective restoration.
A recent survey-study looked into the knowledge, opinions and practices about the defective restoration (DR) management of French general dental practitioners (GDPs).
– We carried out a cross-sectional, online survey-based study amongst 378 GDPs – members of the dental practice-based research network in France (ReCOL) in cooperation with Professor Dr. Sophie Doméjean, Clermont-Ferrand, France, explains Frode Staxrud.
Staxrud is a senior scientist at NIOM, and performed the study with several colleagues, both international and Norwegian.
Only half would consider repair
– We saw that while the response rate was 82.9, only 50.4% of the respondents declared they at least sometimes consider repairing defective restorations, instead, they would prefer total replacement of defective restorations, Staxrud says.
For the 89.8 percent who at least rarely repaired DRs, the main characteristic determining the therapeutic strategy was the size of the defect. Some 71 percent were inclined to repair small defects. The type of defect seemed to be the second most important variable. The material the initial restoration was made of also played a part.
– This means, patients may be subjected to possible overtreatment, as well as too aggressive forms of treatments.
Better long term
– Any operative treatment sacrifice fresh dental tissue. We know it is important to avoid this in order to preserve tooth substance, if possible, Staxrud says.
The results from a 10-year clinical trial in Norway, published in 2016, showed that minimally invasive treatments could consistently increase the longevity of restorations.
– Repair of defective restorations has proved to be a safe and effective treatment in the long term.
Teeth for life
As an expert in minimal intervention dentistry, Staxrud often lectures about how to save patients teeth. Avoiding drilling and other aggressive treatments is key to make them last a lifetime. See NIOMs free webinars for more on this subject.
– However, the French study show that this approach is not yet as prevalent as it should be. We still need collective and individual efforts to promote repair, and the road of minimal invasive dentistry, Staxrud says.
Photo by istock: Preserving the patients teeth for a life of good dental health.
Reference:
How French dentists manage defective restorations: Evidence from ReCOL the French dental practice-based research network– –A survey study
Mocquot C, Vergnes JN, Julien L, Volgenant C, de Soet H, Seux D, Muller-Bolla M, Kopperud SE, Staxrud F, Grosgogeat B, Doméjean S
Journal of Dentistry, Volume 125, October 2022, 104244
NIOM Newsletter June 2023