Dental News - Crown and go: Kiwi study investigates pioneering method to treat caries

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 30. October 2017

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WHANGANUI, New Zealand: Aiming to find a safer, more effective and faster treatment method to reduce the high prevalence of dental caries in children in New Zealand’s Whanganui district, a three-year study has set out to test an alternative method of treating caries, the Hall technique. The study has been underway since December 2015, and its provisional results have been promising, according to the lead researcher.

Instead of removing the diseased tissue under anaesthesia, in the Hall technique, dentists leave the decay as is and cement a small metal crown on the tooth. The crown then stays in the mouth until the affected primary tooth falls out. The method was first introduced in 1991 by Scottish dentist Dr Norna Hall, who used the treatment on her patients for 15 years until she retired.

Although the method has since gained favour internationally, it is still regarded as controversial. Some clinicians think the treatment is wrong because it leaves bacteria behind, explained lead researcher Dr Foster Page, who is an associate professor at the Department of Oral Sciences at the University of Otago. Therefore, the study is seeking sound results that prove the efficacy of the Hall technique so that it can be widely implemented as an alternative treatment option.

Highlighting the benefits of the method compared with the traditional approach of drilling and filling, Whanganui dental therapist Megan Thiele told the New Zealand Herald that the treatment does not require anaesthetic, takes 10 minutes instead of half an hour, means minimal pain for the child and does not have to be redone. One of the few drawbacks of the method, however, is its cost: a crown costs about NZ$10 (€6.07), whereas a filling costs about NZ$1 or NZ$2 (€0.50 or €1.21).

With an exceptionally high caries burden—43.1 per cent of 5-year-olds have the disease—the Whanganui district was chosen to be the first place in New Zealand for the trial on this alternative method of dental care. About 350 local children aged 3–8 are participating in the study. Half are being treated with standard fillings and the other half with the Hall technique.

So far, the results are proving promising, Page said. In December, the two-year data will be released to show which treatment proved more effective in each study group.

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