Atraumatic restorative treatment and glass ionomer sealants in Tunisian children: survival after 3 years

We evaluated the survival rates of atraumatic restorative treatment restorations and of glass ionomer sealants after 3 years of usage in primary and permanent teeth in Tunisian children aged 3-15 years attending rural schools, and assessed the presence or absence of dental caries in the restored teeth. After an initial survey of 1949 children, 242 were selected and agreed to undergo treatment. The loss to follow-up after 3 years was about 40%. Of those evaluated, 45.73% of one-surface ART restorations in permanent teeth had survived, 54.96% of one-surface sealants in permanent teeth had survived and 27.85% of one-surface ART restorations in primary teeth had survived. Caries was found in only 19 teeth after 3 years