Minimally invasive management of dental caries: contemporary teaching of posterior resin-based composite placement in U.S. and Canadian dental schools

Background. Resin-based composites are an increasingly popular material for restoring posterior teeth, permitting minimally invasive cavity preparations and esthetic restorations. The authors investigated current teaching of the placement of posterior resin-based composites in U.S. and Canadian dental schools.

Methods. In late 2009 and early 2010, the authors, with the assistance of the Consortium of Operative Dentistry Educators (CODE), invited 67 dental schools to participate in an Internet-based survey.

Results. The response rate was 73 percent. Although all schools taught the placement of resin-based composites in occlusal and most occlusoproximal cavities, eight schools (16 percent) did not teach placement of three-surface occlusoproximal resin-based composite restorations in permanent molars. Resin-based composites accounted for 49 percent of direct posterior restorations placed by dental students in 2009 and 2010, a 30 percent increase from 2005.

Conclusions. Teaching placement of posterior resin-based composites continues to increase in dental schools in the United States and Canada, with predoctoral students gaining, on average, an equal amount of experience placing posterior resin-based composites and amalgams in terms of numbers of restorations.

Clinical Implications. Evidence-based, up-to-date teaching programs, including those in operative dentistry, are needed to best prepare students for careers in dentistry.