Evaluation of Class I ART restorations in Brazilian schoolchildren: three-year results.

Abstract

Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) has been adopted around the world to avoid unnecessary extractions, especially in non-industrialized countries. The development of specific glass ionomer cements marketed for the ART technique has contributed to the technical success rate. In this study, Ketac-Molar (3M ESPE, Dental Medzin, Germany) was used to restore 150 Class I cavities in 118 Brazilian public school children, aged from 7-12 years. At baseline and at subsequent recalls, CPI probes with a ball-end of 0.5 millimeters (mm) were used to assess loss of restorative material, and photographic color transparencies of restorations were made. After six months, 83 patients returned for follow-up examinations, with 71.8% of their restorations designated as acceptable. After three years, 49 patients with 57 ART-restorations were evaluated, with 21.0% of these restorations graded as acceptable. Another 29.8% of their restorations had been replaced by more permanent materials. The main objective of the ART technique is tooth retention; this was achieved for 94.7% of the restored teeth in a high caries risk population who returned for recalls.