Two-year survival of ART restorations placed in elderly patients: A randomised controlled clinical trial

OBJECTIVES: Older dentate adults are a high caries risk group who could potentially benefit from the use of the atraumatic restorative treatment (ART). This study aimed to compare the survival of ART and a conventional restorative technique (CT) using rotary instruments and a resin-modified glass-ionomer for restoring carious lesions as part of a preventive and restorative programme for older adults after 2 years.

METHODS: In this randomised controlled clinical trial, 99 independently living adults (65-90 years) with carious lesions were randomly allocated to receive either ART or conventional restorations. The survival of restorations was assessed by an independent and blinded examiner 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after restoration placement.

RESULTS: Ninety-six (67.6%) and 121 (76.6%) restorations were assessed in the ART and CT groups, respectively, after 2 years. The cumulative restoration survival percentages after 2 years were 85.4% in the ART and 90.9% in the CT group. No statistically significant between group differences were detected (p=0.2050, logistic regression analysis).

CONCLUSIONS: In terms of restoration survival, ART was as effective as a conventional restorative approach to treat older adults after 2 years. This technique could be a useful tool to provide dental care for older adults particularly in the non-clinical setting. (Trial Registration number: ISRCTN 76299321).

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The results of this study show that ART presented survival rates similar to conventional restorations in older adults. ART appears to be a cost-effective way to provide dental care to elderly patients, particularly in out of surgery facilities, such as nursing homes.

Cost-effectiveness of ART restorations in elderly adults: a randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND: As the world population ages, the requirement for cost-effective methods of treating chronic disease conditions increases. In terms of oral health, there is a rapidly increasing number of dentate elderly with a high burden of maintenance. Population surveys indicate that older individuals are keeping their teeth for longer and are a higher caries risk group. Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) could be suitable for patients in nursing homes or house-bound elderly, but very little research has been done on its use in adults.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the cost-effectiveness of ART and a conventional technique (CT) for restoring carious lesions as part of a preventive and restorative programme for older adults.

METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, 82 patients with carious lesions were randomly allocated to receive either ART or conventional restorations. Treatment costs were measured based on treatment time, materials and labour. For the ART group, the cost of care provided by a dentist was also compared to the cost of having a hygienist to provide treatment. Effectiveness was measured using percentage of restorations that survived after a year.

RESULTS: Eighty-two patients received 260 restorations, that is, 128 ART and 132 conventional restorations. 91.1% of the restorations were on one surface only. After a year, 252 restorations were assessed in 80 patients. The average cost for ART and conventional restorations was €16.86 and €28.71 respectively; the restoration survival percentages were 91.1% and 97.7%, respectively. This resulted in a cost-effectiveness ratio of 0.18 (ART) and 0.29 (CT). When the cost of a hygienist to provide ART was inserted in the analysis, the resulting ratio was 0.14.

CONCLUSIONS: Atraumatic restorative treatment was found to be a more cost-effective alternative to treat older adults after 1 year, compared to conventional restorations, especially in out of surgery facilities and using alternative workforce such as hygienists. Atraumatic restorative treatment can be a useful tool to provide dental care for frail and fearful individuals who might not access dental treatment routinely.

Trends in material choice for direct restorations by final year students from University College Cork 2004-2009

Traditionally, undergraduate students in University College Cork (UCC) have been taught to use amalgam as the first choice material for direct restoration of posterior cavities. Since 2005 the use of composite resins has replaced amalgam as the first choice material. An audit was conducted of all direct restorations placed by final year students from UCC from 2004 until 2009. Results showed that over a six year period, final year UCC dental undergraduate students placed proportionately more direct composite resin restorations and significantly fewer amalgam restorations. The need for and undergraduate exposure to, provision of amalgam restorations may have to be revisited.

Comparison of Composite Placement Techniques by Recently Qualified Dental Practitioners.

Objectives: To evaluate the placement of composite materials by new graduates using three alternative placement techniques.Methods: A cohort of 34 recently qualified graduates were asked to restore class II interproximal cavities in plastic teeth using three different techniques.

(i) A conventional incremental filling technique (Herculite XRV) using increments no larger than 2-mm with an initial layer on the cervical floor of the box of 1-mm.
(ii) Flowable bulk fill technique (Dentsply SDR) bulk fill placement in a 3-mm layer followed by an incremental fill of a microhybrid resin
(iii) Bulk fill (Kerr Sonicfill) which involved restorations placed in a 5-mm layer.

The operators were instructed in each technique, didactically and with a hands-on demonstration, prior to restoration placement.
All restorations were cured according to manufacturer’s recommendations. Each participant restored 3 teeth, 1 tooth per treatment technique.
The restorations were evaluated using modified USPHS criteria to assess both the marginal adaptation and the surface texture of the restorations. Blind evaluations were carried out independently by two examiners with the aid of magnification (loupes X2.5). Examiners were standardized prior to evaluation.
Results: Gaps between the tooth margins and the restoration or between the layers of the restoration were found in 13 of Group (i), 3 of Group (ii), and 4 of Group (iii)
Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference between the incrementally filled group (i) and the flowable bulk-fill group (ii) (p=0.0043) and between the incrementally filled (i) and the bulk fill groups (iii) (p=0.012) and no statistical difference (p=0.69) between the bulk filled groups Conclusions: Bulk fill techniques may result in a more satisfactory seal of the cavity margins when restoring with composite.

Extraction and radioimmunoassay quantitation of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) from human dental pulp tissue

The measurement of neuropeptides in complex biological tissue samples requires efficient and appropriate extraction methods so that immunoreactivity is retained for subsequent radioimmunoassay detection. Since neuropeptides differ in their molecular mass, charge and hydrophobicity, no single method will suffice for the optimal extraction of various neuropeptides. In this study, dental pulp tissue was obtained from 30 human non-carious teeth. Of the three different neuropeptide extraction methods employed, boiling in acetic acid in the presence of protease inhibitors yielded the highest levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of dental pulp tissue verified the authenticity of the neuropeptides extracted. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and VPAC1 receptor in adult human dental pulp in relation to caries

Objective: To quantitatively measure VIP levels and to qualitatively study the distribution of VIP fibres and demonstrate the presence of the VPAC1 receptor in human dental pulp from carious and non-carious adult human teeth. Design: Dental pulp samples were collected from non-carious, moderately carious and grossly carious adult human teeth. VIP levels were determined using radioimmunoassay. The distribution of VIP fibres was studied using immunohistochemistry. The VPAC1 receptor protein expression was determined by Western blotting. Results: VIP levels were found to be significantly elevated in the dental pulp of moderately carious compared with non-carious (p = 0.0032) or grossly carious teeth (p = 0.0029). The distribution of VIP fibres was similar in non-carious and carious teeth, except that nerve bundles appeared thicker in the pulp samples from carious compared with non-carious teeth. Western blotting indicated that the VPAC1 receptor proteins were detected in similar levels in pooled dental pulp samples from both carious and non-carious teeth. Conclusion: It is concluded that quantitative changes in the levels of VIP in human dental pulp during the caries process and the expression of VPAC1 receptor proteins in membrane extracts from carious and non-carious teeth suggests a role for VIP in modulating pulpal health and disease. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.