There is soo much information out there on longevity and intervention of restorative treatments. As a student and practitioner, you will be asked 'How long will this last?'. Then you will be a bit dumbfounded, thinking: what do I do here? Do I learn quotes off published papers? ...Which papers should I use? Should I do an audit for this type of treatment? As humans, we are not as consistent or reliable as we would like to think.
In many papers it is unclear why they carried out certain treatments and the process of having certain outcomes. There is no universal standard for failures of restorations. There is often a lack of clinical trials, which may show that these trials were difficult to carry out in practice conditions.
There are many factors which will influence choice of treatment or patient preference. Some such factors may include: time available for treatments, undergraduate or postgraduate training and financial pressures.
The practitioner has to think within the context of the patient sitting infront of them, with every patient and circumstance being unique. Ofcourse, thinking of differing factors, inside and outside of the mouth, and especially modifying factors within the oral cavity for long term restorative treatment.
In my opinion, the best policy is honesty. Emphasising an estimate of a range, due to many factors, involving the patient, clinician and wider team may be adequate. Quoting papers may be useful, but the real challenge for practitioners is to be aware of all the options, and to communicate the order of options for treatment, that best serve the patient's interests.
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