Transferring ART research into education in Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the teaching of the Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) approach in Brazilian dental schools. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire on this subject was sent to Pediatric Dentistry, Operative Dentistry and Public Health Dentistry professors. The questions approached the followig subjects: the method used to teach ART, the time spent on its teaching, under which discipline it is taught, for how many years ART has been taught and its effect on the DMFT index. Results: A total of 70 out of 202 dental schools returned the questionnaire. The ART approach is taught in the majority of the Brazilian dental schools (96.3%), and in most of these schools it is taught both in theory and in clinical practice (62.9%). The majority (35.3%) of professors teach ART for 8 hours, and most often as part of the Pediatric Dentistry discipline (67.6%). It has been taught for the last 7 to 10 years in 34.3% of dental schools. Most professors did not observe a change in the DMFT index with this approach. There is a diversity in the teaching of ART in Brazil in terms of the number of hours spent, the teaching method (theory and practice), and the disciplines involved in its teaching. Conclusions: It is necessary to address the training of professors in the ART approach for the whole country. An educational model is proposed whereby a standard ART module features as part of other preventive and restorative caries care educational modules. This will facilitate and standardize the introduction and adoption of the ART approach in undergraduate education in Brazil.

Caries Experience of Egyptian Adolescents: Does the Atraumatic Restorative Treatment Approach Offer a Solution?

“…In this way the high surplus of general dental practitioners, who are now distributed over the governmental health care units, of which many are nonfunctional, could be made to real use for improving the oral health of the pop-ulation of Egypt. In this process, the educational model for teaching ART to undergraduate students, proposed for use in Brazil's dental institutions, may be helpful [25] . Training dental personnel in ART is a necessity if one wants to provide quality preventive and restorative care.…”

Use of Patch Test to Determine the Prevalence of Nickel Allergy in Children Aged 5–12 Years

“…O Tratamento Restaurador Atraumático (TRA) foi desenvolvido na década de 80 para ser aplicado em comunidades sem acesso a mínima infraestrutura odontológica (FRENCKEN et al, 1996). Devido a sua filosofia, este tratamento tem sido recomendado pela Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS) desde 1994, sendo divulgado em seu manual em 1997 (NAVARRO et al, 2009). Mesmo sendo uma técnica criada para esse tipo de comunidade sem condições de infraestrutura ela é amplamente difundida como tratamento primário em pacientes pediátricos (BYRD, 2016).…”

Clinical outcome of root caries restorations using ART and rotary techniques in institutionalized elders

“…13 The atraumatic restorative technique (ART) is an alternative technique in which the softened tissue of the lesion is removed with a manual instrument and is sealed with an adhesive material such as glass ionomer cement. 14,15 This technique is advantageous in that only the softened tissue is removed, the cavity is prepared according to the shape of the lesion, anesthesia is normally unnecessary, electrical or hydraulic equipment is not required, and it has a low cost and decreases patient anxiety. 16 However, with this technique, there are some limitations related to the filling material: the restoration is difficult to polish, the restorative materials have a sub-optimal resistance to oral fluids, there is a risk of leakage and compound cavity fracture, and the esthetics are limited.…”

“…Thus, to perform ART, cavities should present certain criteria, such as extension to the dentin, ability to be removed with a manual instrument, and lack of a history of pain, fistula or pulp exposure. 6,15 Glass ionomer cement is a good restorative agent for this technique because it has the following advantages: acceptable biocompatibility; good physical-mechanical properties; good adherence to dental substrates (enamel, dentin and cementum); minimal polymerization shrinkage; isolation, thermal and electrical properties; good marginal sealing properties; easy application; anti-cariogenic properties from fluoride release; and antimicrobial activity.…”