Attitudes, practice, and experience of German dentists regarding repair restorations.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of the present study was to perform a representative survey among German dentists about attitudes, practice, and experience regarding single-tooth repair restorations.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
An anonymous questionnaire was designed and mailed to all registered dentists in Lower Saxony (n = 6600). Twenty-eight percent were returned (n = 1852), and n = 1805 could be analyzed. Statistical analyses were done by Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and ordered logistic regressions (p < 0.05).


RESULTS
Only 2.2 % of the dentists declared to never perform repair restorations. Composite restorations were repaired significantly more often than all other materials. Frequency of performing repair restorations was partially associated to dentist-related factors. The decision for repairing a restoration was dependent on several tooth- and restoration-associated variables. The main indications for repair were the partial loss of restoration or adjacent tooth structure as well as chipping and endodontic access cavities of crowns. Repair restorations were mostly done with composite using various different preconditioning techniques. Overall patients' acceptance was reported to be high. Most of the dentists considered repair restorations as permanent restoration with a moderate to high longevity. Estimated success of repair restorations depended significantly on the dentists' experiences (frequency and techniques of repair restorations).


CONCLUSIONS
Repair restorations were often performed and were well accepted by dentists and patients, but indications for repair restorations as well as applied materials and techniques varied distinctly.


CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Repairs of single-tooth restorations are well accepted and frequently performed, but indications, techniques, and materials require further research.
['Kanzow|Philipp|P|', 'Hoffmann|Robin|R|', 'Tschammler|Claudia|C|', 'Kruppa|Jochen|J|', 'Rödig|Tina|T|', 'Wiegand|Annette|A|']
D000328:Adult D058250:Dental Restoration Repair D005260:Female D005858:Germany D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Experience Repair restorations Questionnaire Success Patient’s acceptance