Microbiological and SEM assessment of atraumatic restorative treatment in adult dentition

Objectives To investigate the practicability of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) in adults in terms of marginal adaptation of restorations and microbiological changes in residual carious dentin. Materials and methods The occlusal dentin caries of 25 permanent molar teeth were removed with hand instruments. The total counts of bacteria (TCB) and the facultative anaerobic bacteria (FAB), mutans streptococci (MS), and Lactobacillus spp. (LB) counts in the affected dentin were evaluated quantitatively. The weights of the samples were measured with an electronic balance (Shimadzu, Type AX200, Japan). The cavities were restored with glass ionomer cement (Ketac TM Molar Easymix, ESPE Dental AG, Seefeld, Germany). Twenty replicas of randomly selected ART restorations were prepared and marginal adaptation was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After 6 months, the same protocols were repeated. Data were analyzed with paired sample t -tests, Wilcoxon t -tests, Pearson and Spearman correlations, and chi-square tests ( p