Three-year evaluation of ART Class I restorations with encapsulated GIC

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical performance of Class I restorations using the Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) in permanent teeth, by testing two different types of conventional Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC): hand-mixed and encapsulated GIC (Riva Self Cure - SDI). Method: A total of 80 restorations were randomly placed by one operator in 40 patients from 8 to 15 years of age. Each patient received two restorations in permanent molars with conventional GIC: one restoration with encapsulated GIC and one with hand-mixed GIC. The restorations were evaluated after 15 days (baseline) and after 3 years by two calibrated independent examiners, according to ART criteria. Data were analyzed by Wilcoxon test for comparison between baseline and three-year periods and between the types of GIC. A difference was statistically significant if p<0.05. Result: In the three-year follow-up, 19 patients (47.5%) were evaluated. The inter examiner kappa was 0.68. There was a statistically significant difference between the types of GIC in the two periods of evaluation. The success rates for the restorations with encapsulated GIC were 100% and 89.5%, and for the hand-mixed group, 88.2% and 42.1% for baseline and three-year periods, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the results at baseline and at three-year periods for both GIC. Conclusion: Restorations with encapsulated GIC performed better than with the hand-mixed version. Both versions of GIC restorations suffered alterations after 3 years. This study was supported by the Southern Dental Industry (SDI).