Survival percentages of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) restorations and sealants in posterior teeth: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study is to update the results of two previous meta-analyses, published in 2006 and 2012, on the survival percentages of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) restorations and ART sealants. The current meta-analysis includes Chinese publications not investigated before. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Until February 2017, six databases were interrogated (two English, one Portuguese, one Spanish and two Chinese). Using six exclusion criteria, a group of six independent reviewers selected 43 publications from a total of 1958 potentially relevant studies retrieved. Confidence intervals and/or standard errors were calculated and the heterogeneity variance of the survival rates was estimated. RESULTS: The survival percentages and standard errors of single-surface and multiple-surface ART restorations in primary posterior teeth over the first 2 years were 94.3% (± 1.5) and 65.4% (± 3.9), respectively; for single-surface ART restorations in permanent posterior teeth over the first 3 years, they were 87.1% (± 3.2); and for multiple-surface ART restorations in permanent posterior teeth over the first 5 years, they were 77% (± 9.0). The mean annual dentine-carious-lesion-failure percentages in previously sealed pits and fissures using ART sealants in permanent posterior teeth over the first 3 and 5 years were 0.9 and 1.9%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ART single-surface restorations presented high survival percentages in both primary and permanent posterior teeth, whilst ART multiple-surface restorations presented lower survival percentages. ART sealants presented a high-caries-preventive effect. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: ART is an effective evidence-based option for treating and preventing carious lesions in primary and permanent posterior teeth.

Replacing amalgam with a high-viscosity glass-ionomer in restoring primary teeth: A cost-effectiveness study in Brasilia, Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: When planning primary oral health care services the cost implications of adopting new intervention practices are important, especially in resource-strapped countries. Although on a trajectory to be phased-out, amalgam remains the standard of care in many countries. METHODS: Adopting a government perspective, this study compared the costs of performing amalgam and ART/high-viscosity glass-ionomer cement (HVGIC) restorations and the consequences of failed restorations over 3 years in suburban Brasilia, Brazil. Cost data were collected prospectively; cost estimates were developed for the study sample and a projection of 1000 single- and 1000 multiple-surface restorations per group. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was conducted in TreeAge Pro. RESULTS: Results were mixed. For single-surface restorations, ART/HVGIC will cost US$51 per failure prevented, while for multiple-surface restorations, ART/HVGIC was cost-effective with a savings of US$11 compared to amalgam. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis (Monte Carlo simulation) predicted amalgam would be cost-effective 49.2% of the time compared to HVGIC at 50.6% of the time at a willingness to pay threshold of US$237 per failure prevented. Personnel accounted for more than half the cost burden for both methods; instruments and supplies accounted for about one third. The per restoration cost to replace amalgam with HVGIC ranges from US$1 to a savings of US$0.84. CONCLUSION: Replacing amalgam with a high-viscosity glass-ionomer as part of the ART method comes at a minimal increase in cost for governments. Increasing the number of restorations seems to diminish the cost burden. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: ART/HVGIC could be considered a viable alternative to amalgam in primary teeth.

Prevalence and severity of clinical consequences of untreated dentine carious lesions in children from a deprived area of Brazil.

Disadvantaged children suffer because tooth cavities are not being treated and their clinical consequences not being surveyed. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence and severity of clinical consequences of untreated dentine carious lesions in schoolchildren from a deprived area of Brazil and to investigate the determinants of the pufa index. A sample of 835 children aged 6-7 years, from six public schools, was examined by 3 calibrated examiners. Clinical consequences of untreated dentine carious lesions in primary teeth were diagnosed using the four codes of the pufa index: 'p' (pulpal involvement), 'u' (ulceration), 'f' (fistulae), 'a' (abscess). Effects of gender, age, school, history of extraction, and toothache on the prevalence of pufa codes were tested. The prevalence of pufa codes was 23.7%. The mean pufa score was 0.4 ± 0.9. Code 'p' was the most prevalent (19.5%), whereas code 'u' was least prevalent (0.1%). Children with a history of extracted primary teeth due to caries had a 2.7 times higher chance to have a pufa code than children with no previous extraction. Children with toothache had a 5.6 times higher chance to have a pufa code than children without toothache. The prevalence of clinical consequences of untreated dentine carious lesions was moderate and the severity was low. The pufa index is an epidemiological tool complementary to existing caries indices aimed to assess dental caries. However, there appears to be no need to include code 'u' nor to score codes 'f' and 'a' separately.