A Clinical Trial of an Acetal Resin Crown for Restoration of Primary Molars

Preformed stainless steel crowns have been used in Pediatric Dentistry to restore badly broken down primary teeth since 1950. They are generally considered more expedient to place than large multi-surface amalgam or composite restorations and have a longer life. They have been used successfully in clinical practice for many years and have presented little in the way of adverse events. The major drawback is the poor esthetics along with lingering concerns over potential health hazards associated with the nickel content. Several attempts have been made to improve upon the esthetics of stainless steel crowns such as veneering the buccal and occlusal surfaces and substituting composite resin for the entire crown, but to date none of these approaches have been very successful. Acetal resin has been used in a number of applications in medicine and dentistry, and recently has met with early success when tested as a substitute for stainless steel crowns. It has a number of excellent physical and mechanical properties including a low coefficient of friction, good wear resistance, high fatigue resistance, good impact strength and resistance to creep. The purpose of this trial is to compare the clinical performance of preformed acetal resin crowns and preformed stainless steel crowns. 2.0 OBJECTIVES The objective of this study is to compare the clinical performance of acetal resin crowns with preformed stainless steel crowns when used to restore primary molar teeth.