Minimal Invasive Dentistry

The term minimal intervention in relation to dental caries covers a vast area of diagnosis and risk assessment, prevention and control. A minimal intervention approach starts with diagnosis and risk assessment of the disease in order to allow for proper treatment decision. Different scenarios for management of initial carious lesions include non invasive management of operative care. The goal of a restorative dentist should be to delay, to prevent placement of initial restorations. Modern treatment plans are focused on disease control, tailored to match the disease status of each individual patient. Hence the dental profession is faced with essential and massive task of educating patients about the disease process and the value of modern caries prevention and re-mineralization measures as treatment alternatives. Minimal intervention dentistry strives to diagnose and treat the cause, not the symptoms.