Long term cost of restorative therapy using different materials

The cost of restorative treatment over a 60-yr period has been assessed, based on the present cost of restorations at the time of insertion and the median longevity of the different types of restorations. Such theoretic extrapolations indicate that the long term cost of two- or three-surface gold and composite restorations in permanent teeth is similar and about 4 times more than for amalgam therapy. The cost of one-surface composite restorations would be about 2-2.5 times that of amalgam restorations, while small gold restorations would cost 5 times more than amalgam restorations. Due to the short median longevity of composite restorations in primary teeth, a 5 times higher cost can be estimated compared to amalgam therapy over a 10-yr period.