Painting the future for ART

The objective of this paper is to review recent research and developments w ith respect to the atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) approach and to o utline future areas of research and development. Areas identified as requir ing further investigation include the evaluation of: ART restorations far l onger than 3 years duration using recognised evaluation criteria, multi-sur face ART restorations, ART restorations in primary teeth and ART sealants. Ln addition, the possibility and potential dangers of caries remaining afte r cavity cleaning with hand instruments must be investigated and the findin gs balanced against the known damage to sound tooth tissue caused by more r outine cavity preparation techniques. New bioactive restorative materials w hich offer the possibility of healing dentinal caries lesions should be dev eloped and evaluated. Finally, behavioural and educational aspects of the A RT approach should be investigated.