Minimally Invasive Selective Caries Removal put into Practice

Abstract

Dental caries remains a significant health problem globally, causing morbidity in those affected and consuming health resources. The management of caries consumes considerable finances both for individuals and the public purse. The scientific understanding of the dental caries process has evolved considerably over the last four decades with a move towards a minimum intervention oral care (MIOC) approach to managing patients. The minimally invasive operative intervention that retains demineralised, caries-affected dentine under a well-sealed restoration in order to avoid instrumentation close to the pulp, has shown clinical efficacy in treating individual teeth, as part of the MIOC framework. However, implementation of the selective caries removal approach in deep lesions is still not thought to be practised routinely by clinicians both globally, and in the UK. This article discusses some of the issues that may account for this and describes a case study using this operative strategy.CPD/Clinical Relevance: Restoring deep carious lesions can be a challenge, but using selective caries removal approaches will help minimise the adverse effects of pulp trauma.