Removing or controlling?

Abstract

A changing understanding of the disease dental caries has initiated a paradigm shift in the management of caries and carious lesions. Instead of merely removing the symptoms of the disease (i.e., the carious lesion), the aim of any therapy is to manage the disease. Noninvasive (biofilm control, remineralization, dietary interventions) and microinvasive strategies (sealants, caries infiltration) can either prevent new lesions or inactivate existing ones, or both. Traditionally, these strategies have been used to inactivate only non-cavitated carious lesions. New evidence shows that in some cases, they can also be applied to cavitated carious lesions. More often, for cavitated lesions, invasive strategies involving the placement of a restoration are needed. As restorations have a limited lifespan, their placement should be postponed as far as possible.