Fiberglass crowns versus preformed metal crowns in pulpotomized primary molars: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Objective: To evaluate the clinical performance of the fiberglass "Figaro" crowns compared to preformed metal crowns (PMCs) in pulpotomized primary molars in children. Method and materials: This split-mouth controlled randomized clinical study was performed on ten childrens, aged from 4 to 6 years, who needed complete oral rehabilitation under general anesthesia and had one pair or two pairs of their primary molars requiring pulpotomy. After pulp therapy, the teeth were randomly assigned to Figaro or PMC crown groups. Modified United States Public Health Service (USPHS) criteria were used to evaluate crown retention, marginal integration, crown discoloration, secondary caries, and gingival status, at 3 and 6 months. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test with Monte Carlo (MC) correction and McNemar (McN) test at a significance level of .05. Results: Ten patients (three boys, 30%; seven girls, 70%) with a mean age of 4.65 ± 0.709 years participated in this study. At 3 months follow-up, there was no significant difference between the groups, but at 6 months follow-up, Figaro crowns showed significant changes from intact crown to either chipped or large loss, whereas all PMCs were found intact (χ2 = 14.545, P[MC] = 0.000). There was also significant deterioration in Figaro crowns' color after 6 months (χ2[McN] = 8.1, P = .004). Conclusion: PMCs were more durable than Figaro crowns, which showed significant deterioration after the 6-month follow-up period. Keywords: children, fiberglass crown, Figaro crown, preformed metal crown (PMC), primary molar crown