Clinical and Radiographical Outcomes of Restorative Treatment With Stainless Steel Crowns Performed by Undergraduate Dental Students in Medina, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background and objective Stainless steel crown (SSC) placement has long been the preferred restorative treatment modality for treating multi-surface carious primary molars. This study aimed to assess the outcomes of SSC placement on primary molars performed by undergraduate dental students. Materials and methods A total of 112 children aged four to eight years were contacted for follow-ups 12 months after they underwent SSC restorations by fifth- or sixth-year female dental students in 2018-2020. Clinical and radiographic examinations were performed by trained dentists to evaluate for signs of failure. Descriptive statistics were applied for categorical variables and a Chi-squared test was used to assess the relationship between failure rate and demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, and type of tooth). Results The majority of the included children were aged seven years, with females (52.7%) slightly outnumbering males (47.3%). The failure rate clinically was 17.8%, involving one or more of the following signs: pain (16.1%), poor crown adaptation (16.1%), improper marginal seal (13.4%), fistula (6.3%), and mobility (4.5%). The rate of failure as per radiological examinations was 15%, involving one or more of the following signs: furcation involvement (9.8%), periapical radiolucency (3.6%), and pathological root resorption (1.8%). No significant association was found between failure rate and age, gender, or type of tooth. Conclusions The restorative treatment of primary molars with SSCs exhibited a high success rate when performed by less experienced undergraduate dental students from different academic levels. The failure rate did not appear to be associated with the child’s age and gender or the type of tooth.