Caries assessment and restorative treatment thresholds reported by Swedishdentists

The aim was to study any variability in approximal and occlusal caries diag noses and restorative treatment decisions among Swedish dentists. The mater ial consisted of a pre-coded questionnaire sent to a random sample of 923 d entists with 4 items concerning approximal and occlusal caries diagnosis an d restorative treatment decisions. Responses were received from 651 (70.5%) dentists. In an adolescent with low caries activity and good oral hygiene, more than 90% of the dentists stated that they would not automatically res tore a primary approximal caries lesion if its radiographic appearance did not show obvious progression in the outer 1/3 to 1/2 of the dentin. Moreove r, 67% of the dentists would only consider immediate restorative treatment of an occlusal surface if obvious cavitation and/or radiographic signs of d entin caries could be observed. When diagnosing questionable occlusal carie s, the dentists largely relied on the radiographic appearance. Concerning b oth approximal and occlusal caries, the threshold for restorative treatment differed between the metropolitan regions in Sweden, and younger more ofte n than older dentists would postpone restorative treatment of approximal ca ries until the lesion had reached a relatively advanced stage of progressio n The responses also showed that dentists in private practice would restore approximal caries at an earlier stage of progression than the dentists in the Public Dental Health Service.