(Deep) Dentine caries and restorative care

Abstract

Context Current cariology principles recommend the level of hardness of the remaining demineralized carious dentine as the criterion for the removal of carious tissue in dentine cavities, predominantly for maintaining pulpal health 1 . However, the method of complete removal of demineralized and discoloured dentine, developed by G.V. Black some 150 years ago 2 , is still taught at a large number of dental schools and practiced by a very large number of dentists in the world. This reflects the fact that recent scientific evidence on caries excavation and cavity preparation is not well translated into undergraduate dental education and clinical practice, resulting in unnecessary removal of tooth substance.