The clinical performance of Equia Fil glass-ionomer cement (GIC) and Essentia composite resin (CR) in restoring primary molars affected by caries was assessed. Materials and methods. 120 GIC and 77 CR restorations were applied and followed-up for 36 months, being assessed for the appearance of secondary caries and retention loss. Overall annual failure rate (AFR) was calculated. Chi-squared statistical test for the comparison of two proportions and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were performed (the significance level being set at p<0.05). Result and discussions. The success rate of CR after the 36-month evaluation was 84.42% regarding secondary caries and 90.91% regarding retention; GIC success rates were 60%. CR AFR was 5.19% for secondary caries and 3.03% for retention; GIC AFRs were 13.33%. Statistically significant differences were found between the two survival curves, GIC having a higher estimated relative risk for secondary caries and retention loss than CR. Conclusion. CR restorations performed better clinically than GIC concerning secondary caries and retention.
Keywords:- composite resin
- glass-ionomer cement
- Kaplan-Meier survival curves.
- primary molars
- success rate