OBJECTIVETo evaluate clinical effect of composite inlays in the defective molars.

METHODSA total of 200 defective molars from 163 patients were divided into two groups, including 100 molars of each. One group was restored with the direct composite inlays and another group with the traditional composite fillings. All the restorations were evaluated in oral cavity after 6-month and 5-year filling or insertion with United States public health service criterions. The data were analyzed using SPSS 11.0 software with the chi-square test. The significance level was set at 5%.

RESULTSIn clinical service for 6 months, the successful rate of composite inlays was 91.8% (90/98) and the corresponding figure for traditional composite fillings was 91.8% (89/97), but there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). In clinical service for 5 years, the successful rate of composite inlay was 87.9% (80/91), the corresponding figure for the traditional composite fillings being 67.4% (60/89) and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSIn clinical, the defective molars can be well restored with the direct composite inlays. Especially in the long-term clinical service, the composite inlays show significant superiority over the traditional composite fillings.