Quintessence Int. 2024 Feb 16;0(0):0. doi: 10.3290/j.qi.b4984249. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
The evidence base for the use of space maintainers (SMs) is relatively sparce despite being used for decades after the premature loss of primary molars. Thus, this study aims to increase the dental evidence base via investigating retrospectively the success rates of prefabricated fixed and removable space maintainers inserted from 2019 to 2021 and followed up until 02/2023 at a specialized university clinic and to identify reasons of any reported minor and major failure. Authors hypothesized that there is no significant difference in failure rates between fixed and removable SMs inserted after the premature loss of a single primary molar per quadrant. Patient’s digital records were searched yielding 645 space maintainers. After the application of inclusion criteria, 157 (67%) fixed prefabricated SMs in 112 children and 77 (33%) removable SMs in 61 children were analyzed for an average of 18.4 months (±9.5). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis with Mantel- Cox statistics showed an overall cumulative survival time of 31.6 months (SE=1.15, 95% CI=29.4-33.9). Major failure occurred significantly more in removable maintainers (n=40/67, 59.7%) mostly due to loss of the appliance compared to fixed space maintainers (n=27/67, 40.3%; P<0.001). The present study indicates that space maintainers were mainly placed in young children with high caries experience, where treatment was mostly possible using advanced behavior management. Fixed Space maintainers had a significantly lower failure rate than their removable counterpart. However, both require continual repairs, preservation or even replacement till the eruption of the permanent tooth.
PMID:38362703 | DOI:10.3290/j.qi.b4984249
