Comparative cost of ART and conventional treatment within a dental school clinic.

BACKGROUND The changing oral health needs in South Africa require that both the teaching and clinical techniques of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) form a part of the restorative undergraduate curriculum. OBJECTIVE This study was undertaken to establish and compare the estimated costing of an amalgam, composite resin and ART restoration within the Board of Health Funders (BHF) recommended scale of benefits at the School of Oral Health Sciences Oral and Dental Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand (SOHS). METHODS Fixed and variable costs were calculated by pricing items and equipment used in each procedure. The output values were established according to the recommended scale of benefits (BHF, 1999). This enabled the calculation of contribution margins and net income for each of the three restorations. RESULTS The annual capital cost for the ART approach is approximately 50% of the other two options (e.g. per multiple surface restoration ART = R1.58; amalgam and composite resin restorative procedures: R3.12 and R3.10 respectively), despite the fact that ART restorations are rendered in a modern dental setting. CONCLUSIONS Our study shows that implementation of the ART approach within the clinic setting of the SOHS can be accomplished without additional cost. Furthermore ART can be performed as an economically viable alternative to conventional treatment procedures within the clinic setting. The study represents a first step towards determining the cost efficiency of implementing ART as a pragmatic and cost-effective restorative option within the SOHS, University of the Witwatersrand.