Paradigm shift in the effective treatment of caries in schoolchildren at risk.

Background:  Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is an effective agent for the arrest of caries in children, is easy to apply and can be used outside the clinical environment. Interim restorative treatment (IRT) using glass ionomer cement has also been claimed to be a simple and effective method to arrest caries in deciduous teeth.

Objective:  To examine whether, for underprivileged schoolchildren with cavities, treatment with 30% SDF gives better results than IRT for carries arrest.