How it works and clinical effectiveness
By making the carious surface accessible and having plaque frequently and thoroughly removed, the carious process will arrest.
In primary teeth, the effectiveness of NRCC in medium and large cavities together with ART restorations in small cavities has been tested in comparison to amalgam and ART restorations.33 Tooth survival after 3.5 years was 89% and not significantly different from either amalgam (91%) or ART restorations (90%), and in a randomised control trial of occluso-proximal cavitated lesions, survival (of pulp and tooth) was 92% at 2.5 years compared to 98% for teeth treated with the HT.34 NRCC has a less robust evidence base than the other treatment options discussed in this paper, with most of the reports of success being related to particular situations and carried out by dentists who support this technique. The choice to use NRCC is less dependent on the shape or type of lesion than it is on the attitude of the patient towards prevention and the skill of the dentist in behaviour change.35