How effective is ART in the management of dental caries?

The ART approach involves excavating cavitated dentine caries with hand instruments, then restoring the cavity and sealing any associated fissures and pits with an adhesive restorative material, resulting in a sealant restoration. Until recently, ART has mainly been used under field conditions, and thus the adhesive restorative material used has been glass ionomer which does not require mixing machines and curing lights. Since the inception of ART, a growing number of studies world-wide have taken place. A total of four studies have reported 3-year survival percentages for one-surface ART restorations. The highest 3-year survival percentage in permanent teeth was 88%, which is comparable to the 85% survival of one-surface amalgam restorations placed under the same field conditions after 3 years. The outcomes depend to some extent on the material used, operator experience and presence of caries. The presence of caries as a reason for failure was higher in the early than in the most recent studies. Only one study has reported on the use of ART restorations in the deciduous dentition. It is concluded that: a very large proportion of dentine lesions in the permanent teeth can be treated using the ART approach; the 3-year survival rate of the more recently placed one-surface ART restorations in permanent teeth was higher than that of ART restorations placed in the beginning; the survival of one-surface ART restorations in the permanent dentition with newer glass ionomers is comparable to that of one-surface conventional restorations placed using amalgam in a comparable setting after 3 years; more studies of longer duration are needed to confirm these findings; ART should be considered a caries treatment modality that benefits people; and educational courses need to be organised before the approach is applied in the clinic.