Clinical decision-making in pediatric dentistry: Restoration versus extraction in transitional dentitions

Tisa Munisa Munawar*  -  Tisa Dental Care Jakarta, Indonesia
Yunita Styaningrum  -  Universitas Islam Sultan Agung, Indonesia
Novi Sagita Rizky  -  Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, UNISSULA, Semarang

(*) Corresponding Author
DOI: 10.30659/odj.13.2.129-139

Background: Oral health problems in primary teeth include caries and tooth loss. Caries risk increases significantly during the mixed dentition. This study aims to compare tooth extraction and restoration for primary and mixed dentition teeth in the age range 4-11 years to determine the causes.

Method: This research is a quantitative descriptive study. The design is comparative retrospective. In the data collection, the researchers used patient medical records from 2025 at Tisa Dental Care in Jakarta. The data collected from the medical records were analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS.

Result: The prevalent clinical finding was pulp condition, then normal dental change, and caries. None of the children had superficial caries; restorations were more than extractions; restorations were mostly due to caries media and irreversible pulpitis; and extractions were mostly due to persistence.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that restorations were more than extractions, except for the 10 to 11-year-old group. Restorations were mostly due to caries media and irreversible pulpitis. Extractions were mostly due to persistence. No diagnosis for superficial caries indicates that parents checked their children's teeth when the problems were severe and the conditions were persistent. 

Keywords: Extraction; Primary Teeth; Mixed Dentition; Restoration; Retrospective Study

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