Dental practitioners' experiences on the usefulness of restorative materials in Finland 1992-1996

Objective To analyse general dentists' choice of restorative materials in F inland, where the use of amalgam has significantly decreased and the use of composites increased during the past 10 years. Design and setting Postal survey in 1997 to a random sample of general dent al practitioners mainly working with adult patients. Main outcome measures Percentage distribution of dentists' opinions. Results The response rate was 82%. Tooth-coloured restorations were conside red to be more time consuming, technically complicated and to have shorter life spans. Most dentists were not willing to return to the wide-scale use of amalgam restorations. Conclusions The rapid changes in the restorative material selection have no t resulted in serious problems in restorative therapy.