Restoring Primary Teeth and Applicability of Prefabricated Crowns in Children

Background: Zirconia dioxide represents the current alternative in restoring primary teeth, being the most promising restorative material through its properties that offer. We proposed to evaluate the correlations between the rate of applicability of the Ni-Cr crowns and the ZrO2 crowns, as well as the range of applicability of the ZrO2 crowns on temporary teeth among dentists and specialized students.

Methods: An extensive survey based on creating and analyzing several targeted forms, containing questions regarding the applicability of the Ni-Cr, as well as ZrO2 crowns were delivered to dentists and specialised students, from three important Romanian universities centers.

Results: We received a total of 622 answers, 388 from the dentists and 234 from the students in last years of study. We noticed the high interest in doctors in completing the form. The method of choice in the case of extensive carious lesions treatment on the primary teeth was the restoration using filling materials. From the 33,2% of the dentists who decide to apply a pedodontics crown, 75% use the Ni-Cr crowns, and only 25% of them choose the ZrO2 crown (p<0,0001).

Conclusions: The applicability of ZrO2 crowns in pediatric dentistry is quite reduced, despite their physiognomic advantage. Both dentists and students that were involved in the survey opted for using and applying prefabricated Ni-Cr crowns.