ART Vs Conventional Technique for Root Caries in Institutionalized Elders

Objectives: To compare the clinical performance of root caries restorations, after a five-month period, using two methods—a conventional technique with rotatory instruments and an atraumatic restorative technique (ART)—in an elderly institutionalized population in the city of Bogota, Colombia.
Methods: A quasi-experimental double-blind, longitudinal study was performed randomly grouping the individuals of the sample. The restorations using conventional technique with rotatory instruments and atraumatic restorative technique were performed by two experienced dentists who were previously calibrated. After five months, two different prosthodontists, who were previously calibrated and blinded, to which method had been performed in each participant, evaluated the condition of the restorations. For the analysis, the restorations were grouped into three categories: “successful”, “survival” and “failure”. A descriptive analysis of the variables of the study was performed; a test of the differences of proportions was carried out to determine the significant differences among the compared variables. Comparison of both techniques regarding technique failure, the quality of oral hygiene and presence of antagonists were evaluated using chi-squared test.
Results: 664 restorations using ART and 84 restorations using conventional technique were evaluated. 81.3% of the ART restorations were survivors or were successful, compared with 92.9% of conventional technique restorations. A significantly higher number of failed ART restorations (p<0.03) and a lower number of successful ART restorations (p<0.025) were observed compared with those of the conventional technique. There was no a correlation between the failures in both restorative techniques and quality of oral hygiene or presence of the antagonist.
Conclusions: A significantly higher number of failures in root caries restorations were observed with ART than with conventional technique. Nevertheless, with the limitations of this study, the high percentage of success or survival in ART restorations indicates that it can be recommended in the study population.