Assessment of the quality of restorations.

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Abstract
Most assessments of the quality of restorations are entirely subjective and involve standard clinical diagnostic equipment. However in recent years there has been an increasing demand for more accurate and reliable methods. Attempts to achieve these have been directed mainly towards the standardization of clinical judgements by the provision of various systems of guidelines of criteria upon which to base them. While these have improved the usefulness of the assessments, they have remained largely subjective. Furthermore, the efficacy of using the particular criteria selected are themselves open to questioning. By the use of more complex methods of examination, often in the field of restorative materials research, assessments have been made of various features of restorations and a body of knowledge concerning factors that might influence or manifest their quality has been build up. However the true significance of much of this knowledge in terms of the clinical behaviour, and thus the finite quality of restorations in service, has yet to be established, for many of the studies have been undertaken in isolation from the dynamic conditions of function in the mouth. Notably, however, a few objective clinical studies have been carried out and objective measurements of some factors affecting the quality of restorations have been reported.