Success rate of glass ionomer restorations and composite resin in deciduous teeth: Literature review

Introduction: Dental caries is a disease whose prevalence is still high in early childhood and its progression can lead to early loss of the dental element. Currently, glass ionomer cement (GIC) and composite resin are the most used restorative materials in pediatric dentistry practice. Objective: The objective of the present literature review was to compare the success rate of restorations made with glass ionomer cement and composite resin in the deciduous teeth. Materials and Methods: The bibliographic research was carried out online, using the tool of search of scientific articles destined to health - PubMed and Google Academic. The search strategy included the following keywords: composite resin, glass ionomer cement and deciduous teeth. A manual survey was conducted in reference lists of included studies. Duplicate articles have been checked and deleted. Initially, 168 articles were found, of which 84 articles were excluded after reading the titles. After reading the abstracts 58 articles were excluded, leaving 18 articles to guide the construction of the present literature review. Conclusion: Given the paucity of clinical studies comparing the longevity of composite resin restorations and high viscosity GICs in deciduous teeth, it is not yet possible to indicate the superiority of one material over the other in clinical dental practice. The selection of the material will depend on each clinical case. It is important that the restorations ensure the esthetics and especially the function of deciduous teeth.