Short communication: a pan-European comparison of the management of carious primary molar teeth by postgraduates in paediatric dentistry.

AIM

To assess the preferences amongst European postgraduates (PG) in Paediatric Dentistry for the treatment of a child with differing caries severity in a primary molar tooth.

STUDY DESIGN

An on-line structured questionnaire.

METHODS

All European Paediatric Dentistry PGs were contacted by e-mail and asked to participate in an on-line questionnaire. The survey described four different case scenarios of a 5-year-old child, presenting with a mesio-occlusal cavity in tooth 85 with varying symptoms and signs. Treatment options were listed and participants asked to select the single most preferred treatment for each case. The same scenarios were presented for both non-anxious and dentally-anxious patients.

RESULTS

Responses were received from 32/56 (F: 27; M: 5) PGs. A range of treatment options were selected for patients with no indication of pulpal involvement for non-anxious patients whilst the Hall technique was selected by 16/32 students for a dentally-anxious patient. For both a nonanxious and dentally-anxious patient, the preferred option for a tooth which produced pulpal symptoms was extraction selected by 16/32 students in both cases, although the mode of extraction differed.

CONCLUSION

There was no consistency of response by PGs in Paediatric Dentistry within Europe. The Hall technique appeared to be a favoured option by half of the students for treatment of an asymptomatic carious primary molar tooth in a dentally-anxious child patient. Dental extraction was an option for a tooth demonstrating pulpal symptoms in both non-anxious and dentally-anxious patients.