Non-conventional caries management techniques for children show promise.

DESIGN

Secondary care-based, three-arm parallel-group, randomised controlled trial.

INTERVENTION

Children aged three to eight years old with at least one primary molar tooth with caries into dentine involving two dental surfaces were randomised to either; conventional restoration (CR) with local anaesthesia, Hall technique (HT) or non-restorative caries treatment (NRCT) with no local anaesthetic. Only one tooth per child was included and parents were present during treatment.

OUTCOME MEASURE

Child's pain perception (Visual Analogue Scale of Faces); behaviour (Frankl scale); and parents' and dentists' treatment opinions (five-point Likert scales).

RESULTS

One hundred and sixty-nine children (96 boys and 73 girls) were randomised; 52 received HT; 52 NRCT and 65 CR. Children showed more negative behaviour in the CR group (37%) compared to NRCT (21%) and HT (13%) (P = 0.047, CI = 0.41 to 0.52). Pain intensity was rated 'very low' or 'low' in 88% NRCT, 81% HT, and 72% CR (P = 0.11, CI = 0.10 to 0.12). NRCT and HT were 'very easy' or 'easy' to perform for >77% of dentists, compared to 50% in CR group (P < 0.000). There were no statistically significant differences in parents' rating of their child's level of comfort (P = 0.46, CI = 0.45 to 0.48).

CONCLUSIONS

Dentists reported more negative behaviour in the CR group. For all techniques, children's pain perception and dentist/parent acceptability were similar.