[Atraumatic restorative treatment restorations placed in school children].
OBJECTIVE
To assess the long effect of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) restorations in a school environment.


METHODS
Five middle-level dentists placed 294 ART restorations in the permanent teeth of 197 children. Standard instruments and procedures for ART were used. The restorative material used was a high-strength glass-ionomer. The restorations were evaluated annually by the same examiner who was not involved in the placement of the restorations. Occlusal wear of the restoration was assessed using a standard rheinberger scale. At the 5th year examination an independent external examiner evaluated the restorations using USPHS criteria.


RESULTS
The cumulative survival rates of small class I restorations in the sixth year it was 75%. The corresponding figures for large class I restorations were 61% (P < 0.05). The net wear rate for both the small and large class I restorations in the first year was about 48 microm, which was significantly higher than those of the later years, which were about 20 - 25 micro m (P < 0.05). In the fifth year 93% of the small restorations were assessed as being satisfactory for marginal integrity, as against 80% for the large ones by using USPHS criteria.


CONCLUSIONS
The ART approach for treating tooth decay in school children was appropriate, effective and acceptable. The 6-year survival rates of the restorations are high but are related to the size and type of the restoration.
Department of Preventive Dentistry, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. hudeyu@public.cd.sc.cn
De-Yu
DY
Hu
Hu-Chun
HC
Wan
Hong-Chun
HC
Liu
Xue
X
Li
Xu
X
Fan
Edward C M
EC
Lo
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements; D006801:Humans; D011446:Prospective Studies
D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements