Objective: Amalgam has been used as a filling material in the treatment of dental caries. In Korea, treatments of amalgam restorations are not expensive because the Korean National Health Insurance schemes cover the payment for these amalgam fillings. This study examined the distribution of amalgam, tooth-colored, and other filling materials on permanent teeth of children and adolescents in Gimhae city, Korea.
Method: A representative sample of 1,649 aged 8, 12, and 15 years in Gimhae city were examined. Two trained dentists who went through calibration exercise examined the filled teeth (FT) and classified them into amalgam, tooth-colored, and other filling materials. The rate of each filling material to total number of filled teeth was calculated. The statistical analysis was performed to examine the relationship between number of filled teeth and filling materials.
Result: 539 subjects had their teeth filled with those aged 8, 12, and 15 years were 59, 213, and 267, respectively. The rate of amalgam, tooth-colored, and other filling material was 18.6%, 68.7%, and 12.7%, respectively. Those subjects with 4 and over FT showed higher amalgam filling rate (26.0%) than those with 1 to 3 FT (15.6%, P<0.01). Whereas tooth-colored filling rate is significantly lower in subjects with 4 and over FT (56.5%) than those subjects with 1 to 3 FT (73.7%, P<0.01).
Conclusion: This study confirmed the distribution of dental filling materials of children and adolescents in Gimhae city with those who experienced more filling treatments had more amalgam filling treatments.