Microstructural Analysis of Carious Lesion Progression Beneath Hall Technique and Conventional Stainless‐Steel Crowns in Children

BACKGROUND: Stainless-steel crowns (SSC) are a common restorative option for preserving tooth tissue damaged by caries in primary molars. The Hall Technique (HT) is an SSC restorative approach using no local anaesthesia, tooth preparation or caries removal. AIM: To compare carious lesion progression, biomechanical and chemical properties in exfoliated primary molars treated with HT and conventional SSC. DESIGN: A descriptive laboratory study was conducted with teeth treated with HT SSC and conventional SSC (control). RESULTS: Radiographic lesion progression was observed in half of the samples, occurring in 47% of HT SSCs and 55% of conventional SSC. The concentration of P and Ca or minor elements such as Na and Mg was similar between HT SSC and conventional SSC. Hardness values of enamel, dentine and carious lesion were slightly lower for HT SSC than conventional SSCs. Elastic modulus values for enamel and dentine were slightly higher in conventional SSC, while HT SSC had higher elastic modulus for the lesion. CONCLUSION: Teeth treated with HT SSCs and conventional SSCs demonstrated similar lesion progression, elemental composition and mechanical properties, suggesting no clear differences between the treatment approaches within the limitations of the sample size and design of this study.