Minimal intervention dentistry: part 5. Atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) – a minimum intervention and minimally invasive approach for the management of dental caries

Abstract

While originally developed in response to a need to provide effective restorative and preventive treatment in underserved communities where running water and electricity might not always be available, over the past two decades, the atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) approach has become a worldwide phenomenon; used not only in some of the poorest developing countries but also in some of the most wealthy. The ART approach involves the removal of infected dentine with hand-instruments followed by the placement of a restoration where the adjacent pits and fissures are sealed simultaneously using high viscosity glass-ionomer inserted under finger pressure. Reliable results can only be obtained if the treatment protocol, as described in this article, is closely followed. ART should be considered as a therapeutic option especially in children, anxious patients and those with special needs.

Hall Technique in Pediatric Dentistry: Review

“…10,11 MİD, diş dokularına ve hasta konforuna saygı gösteren operatif restoratif girişimleri tanımlamakta-dır. 12 MİD, çoğu diş hekiminin düşündüğünün aksine sadece küçük kaviteler açılması anlamına gelmemektedir. 13,14 Günümüzde kapsamı daha da genişleyerek minimal müdahaleli diş hekimliği (MMD) kavramı diş hekimliği literatürüne girmiştir.…”

Clinical Evaluation of Multiple-surface ART Restorations: Three-Year Follow-up

“…It also has applications in industrialized countries, especially for: (I) very young children who are being introduced to oral care, (II) patients who experience extreme fear or anxiety about dental procedures, (III) mentally and/or physically handicapped patients, (IV) home-bound elderly and residents of nursing homes, and (V) patients in high-risk caries clinics who can benefit from ART as an intermediate treatment to stabilize conditions [2,5,6]. This approach requires neither electricity nor plumbed water and, therefore, can be applied in almost any setting and under field conditions [5].…”

“…he Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) approach combines the preventive component with the restorative procedure, and has the potential to be minimally invasive and to maximally preserve the tooth structure [1,2,3]. It involves the removal of infected tooth tissues using hand instruments, and the cavity including adjacent pits and fissures is restored using a filling material, usually a glassionomer cement (GIC) [1,3,4].…”

“…The ART approach is an important corner stone in the building of global oral health [1]. The ART approach have been carried out in different countries around the world [1,2,3,5] The survival of single-surface ART restorations in the primary and permanent dentition shows good results, on average 86.1% and 91.7% after 3 years, respectively [7,8,9,12], while the success rate of multiple-surface ART restorations in the same period is about 77% in the permanent dentition [8] and 48.7% in the primary dentition [9]. It has been observed that the main circumstances for failed multiple-surface ART restoration were: restorations missing, restoration fractures, and unacceptable occlusal wear [4,10,11,12].…”

“…The ART was recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) for bringing restorative dental treatment appropriate for the management of dental caries in communities with poor infrastructures and inadequate oral health systems [1,2,4,5]. It also has applications in industrialized countries, especially for: (I) very young children who are being introduced to oral care, (II) patients who experience extreme fear or anxiety about dental procedures, (III) mentally and/or physically handicapped patients, (IV) home-bound elderly and residents of nursing homes, and (V) patients in high-risk caries clinics who can benefit from ART as an intermediate treatment to stabilize conditions [2,5,6].…”