Chemomechanical caries removal in children: efficacy and efficiency

Abstract

Background: The authors investigated the effectiveness of chemomechanical caries removal (CMCR) compared with the traditional method (TM) of caries removal using a round bur when treating dentinal-depth occlusal lesions with minimal enamel access in primary molars. The authors also compare CMCR with TM to determine if it had a higher efficacy and could be used more frequently without the subject's having to undergo local anesthesia.

Methods: The authors collected data from 50 children during operative appointments at which caries was removed using one of the two methods.

Results: Complete caries removal within 15 minutes was achieved in only 57.7 percent of the CMCR-treated teeth. In 42.3 percent of these teeth, residual caries was removed using TM. CMCR was almost eight times more time-consuming than was TM when used to excavate dentinal-depth occlusal lesions with minimal cavitation. There was no significant difference between CMCR and TM in the number of subjects who needed to undergo local anesthesia.

Conclusions: The authors found no direct clinical advantage in using CMCR over using TM for treating occlusal dentinal lesions with minimal cavitation in pediatric patients.