Evaluation of non-invasive treatment applied to occlusal surfaces

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of non-invasive methods of treatment for active incipent occlusal caries. Anamnesis, professional prophylaxis, and visual inspection were used to classify 250 Brazilian pre-school-children. First permanent decayed molars (n=98) from thirty-one subjects (6 years+ 6 months) were selected and divided into three groups. Group 1: fissure sealants with resin-modified glass ionomer - Vitremer (n=29); Group 2: fluoride varnish -Duraphat (n=36) and control group: tooth brushing and 0.2 percent NaF weekly mouthwashes (n=33). Four clinical evaluations were carried out over three, six, nine, and twelve months. Caries activity and progression were observed through clinical and radiographic evaluation. The results were analyzed by Fisher=s Exact test. After twelve months, the results showed 100 percent of arrestment of caries activity for Group 1, 83.3 percent for group 2, and 72.7 percent for control group. At the same time, the results showed 0 percent of caries progression for group 1, 5.5 percent for Group 2, and 6.1 percent for control group. Group 1 showed a better inactivation property than the other groups (p<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in caries progression among these groups (p>0.05). It was concluded that this non-invasive methods were able to arrest the progression of occlusal caries, but fissure sealant showed better results in controlling caries activity.