Management of Occlusal Dentinal Caries in Deciduous Molars

Dental caries is a complex multifactorial disease and is one of the most prevalent diseases throughout history. It can cost a lot of money to treat and causes infection, pain and the loss of teeth. Choices for managing a carious lesion cover a spectrum of options-from complete surgical excision, where no part of the visible carious tissue is left in the tooth before a restoration is placed, to the opposite extreme, where none of the carious tissue is removed and noninvasive methods are used to prevent progression of the lesion. Thus, this study compared efficacy of no caries removal and sealing the entire lesion verses partial selective caries removal to soft and to firm dentin in healing and/or preventing progression of moderate to deep occlusal dentinal caries in previously unrestored teeth by clinical and radiographic analysis in 4-7 year old children.

Inclusion criteria

• Children in the age group of 4 - 7 years
• Previously untreated first and second mandibular deciduous molars with moderate to deep occlusal caries i.e. caries involving middle 1/3rd to pulpal 1/3rd of dentin
• No root resorption or physiologic resorption not exceeding 2/3rd of the root length
• Children having positive and definitely positive behavior

Exclusion criteria

• Children with special health care needs
• Children with dental crowding limiting the child's ability to maintain oral hygiene
• Teeth with clinical and/or radiological signs or symptoms of non- vitality
• Teeth with clinical and radiological signs or symptoms of irreversible pulpitis or dental abscess (Pain, mobility, tenderness to percussion, draining sinus, pulp polyp, furcal or periapical radiolucency, root resorption)
• Mobility of the tooth
• Pathologic root resorption
• Physiologic root resorption exceeding 2/3rd of root length in preoperative x-ray