THE AGE OF RESTORATIONS IN-SITU

In a cross-sectional survey the age of restorations in situ was record ed in three patient groups. Group A were randomly examined regular att enders, group B were irregular attenders randomly chosen from patient treatment records, and in group C the age of posterior gold and compos ite resin restorations was recorded in selected regular attenders. The study material included 8310 restorations in group A, 1281 in group B , and 500 restorations in group C. The three materials amalgam, compos ite, and gold accounted for more than 90% of all restorations. In grou p A 3.3% of the restorations were scheduled for replacement. The most prevalent reasons for replacement were secondary caries, bulk fracture s of the restoration, and tooth fractures. The median age of the faile d restorations was fairly similar to the median age of the acceptable restorations in situ among the regular patients (group A). The data in dicate median ages of 20 years for gold restorations, 12-14 years for amalgam restorations, and 7-8 yea rs for composite resin restorations. The restoration ages were influenced by the type and size of the rest oration, the restorative material used, and possibly also the intra-or al location of the restorations.