Prevalence of caries and lesions treatable through the ART approach of high caries risk schoolchildren in Damascus, Syria

Objective: To determine the prevalence of dentinal lesions treatable through the atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) approach for high caries risk schoolchildren. Subjects and Methods: A convenience sample was taken of 1,542 grade 1 and 931 grade 2 children from 21 primary schools in a low socio-economic area in Damascus. Dentinal lesions in which the smallest excavator (diameter of 0.9 mm) could enter the cavitated lesion were considered treatable using the ART approach. Mann-Whitney U and ANOVA tests were used to analyse the data. Results: The mean dmfs and dmft scores of the 6- to 7-year-olds (grade 1) were 9.0 and 4.4, respectively. The mean DMFS and DMFT scores of the 7- to 8-year-olds (grade 2) were 1.6 and 1.4, respectively. At least 89.9 and 54.9% of the dentinal lesions in the deciduous and permanent dentition that were in need of a restoration, respectively, were diagnosed as treatable using ART. Conclusion: A high proportion of dentinal lesions in need of restorations in both deciduous and permanent dentitions in this high caries risk group of 6- to 8-year-olds were diagnosed as being treatable using the ART approach. Copyright (C) 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel.