Choice of restorative materials by dentists in Class III dental caries in primary maxillary lateral incisors in 3-6-year-old children: A retrospective study

Early childhood caries has an intricate etiology and it requires a helpless tooth surface, fermentable starches, and cariogenic microorganisms throughout some undefined time frame to start the carious cycle. Tooth-hued materials gained popularity in recent years for reestablishing primary and youthful blended dentitions. Hence, the main aim of this study was to investigate the choice of restorative materials in Class III dental caries in primary maxillary lateral incisors in 3-6-year-old children. Data collected from the records of the children 3-6 years of age for the choice of restorative materials of primary maxillary lateral incisors between September 2020 and February 2021 were included in the study. Retrospective study data were collected through the software DIAS and data analysis was carried out using Chi-square tests. Variation in the percentage of children who underwent restoration utilizing strip crowns was the highest within 3-4 years (38.26%) when compared to light composite restorations (LCR) (14.9%), whereas the least preferred restoration was glass-ionomer cement (5.37%) which was noted statistically significant. Considering the age group of 5-6 years preferred form of restoration was LCR (19.80%) when compared to strip crown (17.79%), whereas 4.70% of the treatment cases were utilized for glass-ionomer cement restorations. Strip crowns are a more predominantly used choice of restorative material in Class III dental caries in primary maxillary lateral incisors in between 3- and 6-year-old children.