The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #42810

Sara Simpser-Rafalin, DMD¹, Naty Lopez, BSN, MEd, PhD², and Peter Berthold, DDS, PhD, DMD². (1) Dental Care Systems, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, 4001 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (2) School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 4001 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6003, 215-898 0558, rafalin@pobox.upenn.edu

A pilot study on the use of Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) as a means to provide access to oral health care was conducted in a Mexican village with no access to electricity, running water and basic health services. ART is the removal of soft carious lesions with hand instruments and restoration of the cavity with use of glass ionomer. The primary objective was to determine the acceptability and effectiveness of ART to treat and prevent caries in an underserved community. A total of 120 ART restorations and 95 sealants were placed in 82 schoolchildren ages 5-18 years by 3 dentists and 9 students. Standard ART instruments and glass ionomer (Fuji II XTGC) were used. Satisfaction with the procedure was high: 85% reported no pain during treatment and 93% were comfortable with their restorations. Outside examiners evaluated the restorations at 6 months, one year and two years. Not all the children were present during each follow-up. 22 restorations were lost when families moved out of the area. On the two year evaluation results show 66% (n=59) of ART restorations and 24% (n=59) of sealants placed were retained. The study shows that ART is an acceptable and effective approach to control and prevent decay in a socio-economically deprived community. The study will be duplicated in other deprived communities to validate results. This project was funded through donations from GC America, Hu-Friedy, WHO and in collaboration with UNITEC dental school in Mexico.

Learning Objectives:

• To articulate a procedure for treatment of dental caries that is less invasive and preventive
• To recognize the cost effectiveness of ART and its use without sophisticated dental equipment and materials.
• To assess the acceptability of ART approach by children in an underserved community.
• To evaluate the results of a pilot study using ART in an underserved community.

Keywords: Access, Underserved

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.