Five-Year Survival of Class II Restorations with and without Base Bulk-Fill Composite: A Retrospective Data Collection Study

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to determine the survival of class II composite restorations with and without base bulk-fill composite in general dental practice. Materials and Methods We collected data from the electronic patient files of the Public Dental Services in the City of Oulu, Finland. The data consisted of class II composite restorations both with and without base bulk-fill composite. We compared the survival of these restorations using Kaplan-Meier survival curves, the log-rank test, survival rates, and the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. Results We observed 297 restorations in 96 patients. The five-year survival rates for restorations with and without base bulk-fill composite were comparable in premolars (77.5% and 77.4%, respectively) but different in molars (69.9% and 57.8%, respectively, p = 0.069). In molars, the restorations with base bulk-fill composite exhibited a higher survival rate in 14 patients, whereas in 11 patients the restorations without base bulk-fill composites exhibited a higher survival rate. In 24 patients the survival rates were similar for restorations with and without the base bulk-fill composite (p = 0.246). Conclusions There was a trend for the restorations with base bulk-fill composite to exhibit better longevity compared to those without it in molars. Clinical Relevance We encourage general practitioners to use base bulk-fill composites due to their adequate survival rates and potential to reduce the time the patient spends in the discomfort of a restorative procedure.