Longevity of Restorative Materials Used to Seal Overdenture Abutments

Objectives: This study compared the survival of two restorative materials, posterior composite (P50®) and light cured glass ionomer (Fuji® II lc) used to seal the root canal orifices of overdenture teeth. Methods: Forty-four subjects wearing overdentures who had at least one tooth on either side of the arch were recruited from January to December 1966. Subjects were recalled and after at least two years in the study 28 persons completed the final appointment. We were unable to contact 11 persons, 2 refused, and 3 were too frail. At the final appointment, unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva flow rates were measured by the suction method. Streptococcus mutans and lactobacillus levels were determined by the caries risk test strips by Vivadent®, as well as three-day diet analyses. Results: There were 20 males and 8 females with 62 teeth of which 32 were restored with Fuji® II lc and 30 with P50®. Ten subjects were caries free while 18 had caries in at least one abutment. There were no differences in the longevity of the restorative materials as 18 of the 32 teeth restored with Fuji® II lc had caries compared to 15 of the 30 that were restored with P50®. Teeth with caries were at high risk for extraction. When comparing subjects with and without caries, no statistically significant risk factors were found. The only variable in this population which approached significance was that males were more likely to have caries. Conclusions: The loss of 16 (36.4%)subjects from this study compromised the statistical analysis, as there were not enough subjects to determine which risk factors contributed to the caries process or the loss of the restorative materials. The very high rate of caries and the associated loss of teeth was different from other reported studies.

Supported by NIH/NIDCR P30DE10126-10 and Vivadent®