Diagnosis and management of recurrent caries

Abstract

Background. Dental caries is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases of people. But despite the fact that today there are a lot of modern materials to restore the hard tissue affected by caries, a problem remains the appearance of reccurent caries that develops adjacent to restorations margins. Objective of the study. To assess how to control, detect, and treat secondary caries. Material and Methods. It was performed the examination of 16 patients, 8 men and 8 women, between the ages of 18-55. Clinical and paraclinical examination has established the diagnosis of recurrent caries for 32 teeth. The treatment was done by cleaning the caries and repairing or replacement of existing restorations. Results. From 32 teeth taken into the study, 22 were maxilla teeth (68,75 %) and 10 were mandibular teeth (31,25 %); 25 were posterior teeth (78,13 %) and 7 - anterior teeth (21,87%). From 45 surfaces affected by recurrent caries, occlusal surfaces were involved in 10 cases (22, 3 %), mesial surfaces in 14 cases (31,2 %), distal surfaces in 16 cases (35,5 %), vestibular surfaces in 4 cases (8,8 %) and oral surfaces in 1 case (2,2 %). According to the treatment methods of recurrent caries, 19 teeth (56,37 %) were treated by using repairing method and 13 teeth (40,63%) by using replacement method. Conclusion. Proximal surfaces of the teeth are the most affected by recurrent caries. Detected recurrent caries can be managed by repairing the defective part of the restoration or its complete replacement, it depends on the patient and teeth criteria.