Conclusions ART single-surface restorations  presented high survival percentages in both primary and permanent posterior teeth , whilst ART multiple-surface restorations presented lower survival percentages .
ART sealants presented a high-caries-preventive effect .
Clinical relevance ART is an effective evidence -based option for treating and preventing carious lesions in primary and permanent posterior teeth
Objective The aim of the present study is to up date the results of two previous meta-analyses , published in 2006 and 2012 , on the survival percentages of  atraumatic restorative treatment ( ART ) restorations and ART sealants .
The current meta- analysis includes Chinese publications not investigated before .
Retention Rate of Four Different Sealant Materials after Four Years.
PURPOSE To test the hypotheses : 1 ) cumulative survival rates of fully and partially retained high-viscosity glass-ionomer ( HVGIC ) ART sealants with heat application and glass-carbomer sealants on occlusal and free-smooth surfaces are both higher than that of resin sealants ; 2 ) cumulative survival rate of fully and partially retained high-viscosity glass-ionomer ART sealant with heat application on occlusal and free-smooth surfaces is higher than that of comparable ART sealants without heat application . MATERIAL S AND METHODS The block-r and omised clinical trial covered 405 eight-year-old children . The HVGIC was Ketac Molar Easymix , the glass carbomer was GlassCarbomer and the resin sealant was Clinpro . Retention rates of sealants on occlusal and free-smooth surfaces using conventional and modified categorisation ( fully and partially retained sealants vs those completely lost [ at least one-third of surface re-exposed ] ) were the dependent variables . The Kaplan-Meier survival method was used . RESULTS The cumulative survival rate of completely and partially retained resin sealants  on occlusal ( 81.2 % ) and free-smooth ( 81 % ) surfaces after 4 years was statistically significantly higher , and that of glass-carbomer sealants ( 10.8 % and 21.1 % , respectively ) was statistically significantly lower than those of the other sealant groups . There was no statistically significant difference in survival rates of completely and partially retained high-viscosity glass-ionomer ART sealants with ( 56 % for both surfaces ) or without heat application ( 56 % ) on occlusal and free-smooth surfaces ( 55.7 % and 59.1 % , respectively ) . CONCLUSIONS Resin sealants had the highest and glass-carbomer sealants the lowest retention rate after 4 years . Application of heat to high-viscosity glass-ionomer ART sealants did not result in a significantly higher sealant retention rate . Use of the modified categorisation for determining sealant retention is advocated
Conclusions ART single-surface restorations  presented high survival percentages in both primary and permanent posterior teeth , whilst ART multiple-surface restorations presented lower survival percentages .
ART sealants presented a high-caries-preventive effect .
Clinical relevance ART is an effective evidence -based option for treating and preventing carious lesions in primary and permanent posterior teeth
Objective The aim of the present study is to up date the results of two previous meta-analyses , published in 2006 and 2012 , on the survival percentages of  atraumatic restorative treatment ( ART ) restorations and ART sealants .
The current meta- analysis includes Chinese publications not investigated before .