Caries removal in primary teeth using Carisolv chemomechanical method

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the working time for caries removal in primary teeth, the need for local anesthesia and patient cooperation when the teeth were treated with chemomechanical Carisolv or conventional rotary instrument.Methods: A total of 53 children, aged from 3.5 to 7 years old, 25 boys and 28 girls participated in the study. 129 primary molar teeth with similar size of occlusal carious lesions into dentin were selected as the sample, and grouped according to the number. For every tooth assigned to the rotary instrument for caries removal, two consecutive teeth were assigned to chemomechanical method. All the teeth were treated by the same dentist. The efficiency in caries removal was judged on the basis of clinical criteria. Length of working time, need of local anesthesia, and level of patient cooperation were recorded for both methods. Statistical analysis was performed using the Student's t test and Chi-square test. Results: In total, 43 teeth were treated with conventional rotary instrument, and 86 with chemomechanical method. Mean total time in minutes for caries removal using rotary instrument and chemomechanical method was 3.2±1.2 and 9.3±3.6 respectively, and the difference was significant(P<0.001). But the cooperation of the patients treated by chemomechanical technique was a little higher than that of the children treated by the rotary instrument, even though the difference was not significant (P>0.5). Furthermore, the chemomechanical method reduced the need for administration of local anesthesia significantly for cavity preparations(P<0.05). Conclusions: Although more prolonged, the chemomechanical method is effective in caries removal in primary teeth, and may reduce the need of local anesthesia. So it can be an alternative way for caries removal in deciduous teeth.