Methods: Air Abrasion (PrepStart, Danville, USA), the HealOzone unit (CurOzone USA and KaVo) and a glass ionomer filling material (Fuji9, GC Corp, Japan), were selected for comparison with traditional drill and fill (D&F) procedures and materials for the management of primary root caries (PRCL’s) in an ageing patient group (>60, mean 70.8yrs, SD 7). A total of 68 patients with 3 lesions each (204 PRCL’s in total) were recruited. The lesions were randomly assigned into three groups; treatment with Ozone, or air abrasion and filling or traditional drilling and filling (D&F).

Results: 64 patients completed this study. There were no observed adverse events. Air abrasion decreased the mean time for cavity preparation by 4 times when compared to traditional rotary drills (67 seconds (SD 12) compared to 4.5 minutes (SD 1.75 minutes)(p < 0.05)). The mean time required for ozone treatment was 40 seconds (SD 5 seconds) for each lesion, whilst for traditional D&F, the average time needed was 27 minutes (1620 seconds) (SD 8 minutes) (p < 0.01). Ozone treatment was faster by a factor of 40. The cost of the treatment was assessed. The average cost to treat a lesion with ozone was 3.6 times less compared to the average cost for each traditional filling.

Conclusions: The new technologies of air abrasion and Ozone offer economic savings for dental practices and patients. Compared with conventional drilling and filling of root caries, Ozone treatment is 40 times faster and 3.6 times cheaper.

Keywords: Gerontology, Health services research, Cariology, Therapeutics, Quality of life

First Author

Presenting
Helene Domingo
Health Services Research
Queen's University of Belfast
Dental School