The hall technique

Abstract

The contemporary view of caries management focuses on treating carious lesions using less invasive treatment options. The Hall Technique is an innovative, less invasive, operative management option, in which preformed metal crowns (PMCs) are used to seal carious lesions with dentin involvement in primary molars using a glass ionomer luting cement. Thus, removal of carious tissue, tooth preparation, or the use of local anesthesia are not required for the Hall Technique. The PMCs are simply pushed over the tooth, to isolate and seal the carious lesions from the oral cavity, resulting in reduction of the nutrient supply and consequently carious lesion arrest. This makes the Hall Technique a technically simple procedure to perform, in terms of clinical skills, and is well accepted by dentists, children, and their parents. However, it should not be considered as a quick solution to the problem of treating all carious primary molars in children who are unable to cooperate with more invasive treatment. For success, the Hall Technique requires careful case selection, precise carious lesion and pulpal diagnosis, good patient management, and parental cooperation. The Hall Technique is an effective treatment option for management of asymptomatic dentin carious lesions in primary molars with long-term high success rates and is, with a strong evidence base, recommended as part of our armamentarium for everyday use in pediatric dentistry.