A Cross-sectional Retrospective Study of Survival of Amalgam Restoration in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background This is a cross-sectional retrospective study on survival of amalgam restoration in a Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. There has been no study on this particular subject in Nigeria despite the fact that there is an alarming increase in dental caries and the preferred choice of treatment for over 5 decades has been amalgam restoration. Materials and methods It is a retrospective study of dental records of the dental center over a period of 12 years setting certain criteria that must be met by such records. Those that fulfilled these criteria were then recalled for examination. Results Two hundred and ninety-four amalgam restorations were placed with primary placements forming 75.69 of all restorations carried out while replacements were 24.31%. Fractured restoration was the commonest cause of failure of restoration accounting for 66% of all replacement. Ditching formed 15.5%, recurrent caries 11.6%, dislodged restoration 5.3%. While cervical overhanging amalgam was 1.6%. 25%, 50%, 75% cumulative failure rate occurs at 4.2 and 6.9 and 9.2 years respectively. While at the same time 73.2 and 19.2% of the restorations lasted for 5 and 10 years respectively. Conclusion Primary placement is the preoccupation of the dentist's in Nigeria while replacement rate is low. However, while recurrent caries is the major cause of restoration failure in economies country in Europe and America, it is not the case in this study. How to cite this article Olaleye AO. A Cross-sectional Retrospective Study of Survival of Amalgam Restoration in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital. World J Dent 2013;4(3):149-154.