Tx for Carious Teeth

• During the primary dentition period, restoration of carious teeth is always desirable because the anterior teeth are important for aesthetic reasons and the posterior teeth are important for mastication and space maintenance. After the primary incisors are shed, space maintenance is the principal function of primary teeth; their function in mastication is diminished because permanentfirst molars are present. The benefit of restoring carious primary molars depends on the importance of maintaining space, and this varies greatly in different dentitions.
• G.I’s adhere to enamel and dentine, making them useful materials for restoring primary teeth, especially when it is difficult to prepare a retention cavity.
• G.I’s are useful when the patient’s co-operation is limited and it is desirable to simplify operative procedures as much as possible.
• G.I’s are useful in a child with previous high caries experience, as the approximal surface adjacent to that to be restored is sound or demineralised (leach of fluoride).
• G.I’s are not strong enough to be used for a large class II restoration that presents a large surface area to masticatory forces.
• G.I’s are not as durable as composite but are occasionally useful.