Teaching of composite restoration repair: Trends and quality of teaching over the past 20 years

Abstract

Objectives: Repairs are frequently taught at dental schools around the world. Various studies regarding the teaching of composite repairs were performed over the past 20 years. However, it is unclear if teaching reflects current evidence and if clinical recommendations have changed over time. Sources: Electronic databases (Embase, Scopus, PubMed) were searched. Study selection: Studies reporting on teaching concepts (i.e. recommended treatment steps) were included. Teaching was analysed regarding key treatment steps for conditioning of the repair surface (use of (1) diamond burs, (2) air abrasion/silica coating, (3) application of silane or universal primers, and (4) application of adhesives) using random-effects meta-analyses, meta-regressions, and an overall quality score. Data: 63 records were assessed, and 12 studies having surveyed 331 dental schools were included. The mean (95 % CI) proportion of dental schools teaching the use of diamond burs for roughening of the repair surface amounted to 83.0 % (71.0-90.7 %). Air abrasion / silica coating, the use of silane/universal primers and adhesives was taught by 29.8 % (18.7-44.1 %), 32.4 % (21.1-46.2 %), and 86.4 % (73.5-93.6 %), respectively. In recent years, dental schools more often taught the use of adhesives (padj. = 0.012) and the mean overall quality score of teaching improved (p = 0.007). Conclusions: Share of dental schools recommending most of the key treatment steps did not significantly increase over the past 20 years. However, the overall quality of teaching improved, and teaching is nowadays more consistent with recently published recommendations. Clinical significance: Repairs are not only frequently taught, but the mean overall quality score did improve in recent years.