What's New in the Benefits of Restoring Primary Teeth?
Another study [5], a randomized controlled clinical tri- al in Scotland, showed that the conventional caries treat-ment of primary teeth seems unjustified. This trial used a specific new ‘Hall’ technique [6] , a simplified method of using preformed metal crowns cemented with no local an-aesthesia, caries removal or tooth preparation. The study was a GDP-based, split-mouth randomized controlled tri-al of 132 children, aged 3–10 years, and compared the ac-ceptability and clinical outcome of the Hall technique with conventional restorations. This technique was preferred to conventional restorations by the majority of children, caregivers and GDPs and showed better outcomes for pulpal health and longevity of restorations than conven-tional restorations. The results were expected according to the current paradigm of caries aetiology [7], where carious tooth tissue does not need to be removed but rather iso-lated from the oral environment. This had been shown earlier by a prospective study of sealing the occlusal den-tine caries lesions, where the caries did not progress [8] .