There is a considerable debate in clinical practice regarding the use of amalgam restorations in primary molars. The current study aimed to assess the weight of teaching amalgam cavity preparation and restoration in various pediatric dentistry programs in Egypt, as well as the perceptions of pediatric dentistry educators regarding the teaching and use of dental amalgam as a restoration for primary molars. Additionally, this study sought to correlate the data with the respondents’ demographic data. A 24-question web-based questionnaire was created, validated, and sent to heads of pediatric dentistry departments in 30 dental schools in Egypt. The questionnaire was asked to be completed and shared with the teaching staff. The data gathered were exported into an Excel spreadsheet and statistically analysed. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and chi-square test for independence were used to assess associations between demographic variables and several statements from the questionnaire. A total of 139 respondents from 26 schools were included in the data analysis. 21 and 7 schools teach amalgam in undergraduate and postgraduate programs, respectively. 88% of the respondents have not used amalgam for a year or more, 73% will have no actual effect on their practice if amalgam were not an available option. 21% and 42% disagree with continuing to teach amalgam in undergraduate and postgraduate programs, respectively. Statistically significant relations were found between the age, years of experience, type of institution of respondents, and respondents’ agreement with the different statements from the questionnaire concerning the continuation of use and teaching amalgam, as well as increasing the time dedicated to teaching adhesive restorations. For most paediatric dentistry faculty members, amalgam is not the best choice for restoring primary molars; however, they are cautious and not yet ready to discontinue teaching amalgam, especially among the older and more experienced faculty members. They also believe that the number of training hours dedicated to adhesive restorations should be increased. The current study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov on May 28, 2025, with the identifier number NCT06995859.
Azab et al. (Thu,) studied this question.