[Evaluation of the quality of proximal restorations with plastic materials: radiographic study].

AIM: To assess the quality of proximal coronary restorations and bring out the factors influencing this quality.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: A transversal study on 160 radiographs of proximal coronary restorations was conducted at the University Center of Dental Consultation and Treatment of Rabat. Restorations were evaluated according to the modified USPHS criteria. Four variables were studied: restoration material, treated tooth, cavity type and location of treatment in order to identify the influencing factors.

RESULTS: Forty five per cent of the evaluated proximal coronary restorations required replacement. The main cause of failure was recurrent caries in 36% of cases, followed by the absence of the contact point (24.4%), unacceptable proximal coronary outline (13.8%), and finally dentin exposure (6.9%). Thus, it turned out that there is a difficulty to restore correctly posterior proximal cavities especially using amalgam and a high rate of recurrent caries at both the anterior and posterior teeth.

CONCLUSION: Both a clinical and a radiographic evaluation after each proximal restoration would be recommended to reduce failure.