Minimally Invasive Cavity Preparation Techniques.
Author(s): Sameerah Jameel Tarfa* and Mohammed Rashid Al Jubouri
Abstract
Regardless of the reality that the preponderance of dental caries has declined in recent decades, it represents the most common disease internationally. The conventional operative treatment of the dental caries was based on the removal of carious lesions along with sound dental structures in order to provide mechanical retention for restorative materials that were used at that time. With the current understanding of the caries process and the advancement of adhesive restorative materials, this type of intervention is considered a devastating method and should not be performed. A few decades ago, the concept of Minimally Invasive Dentistry (MID) was introduced and it advocates the selective removal of carious lesions while at the same time preserving intact tissues. The main MID pillars are early diagnosis, disease prevention and minimal surgical intervention for the cavitated lesions. This paper aims to provide a brief review of the existing literature about minimally invasive dentistry principles, different types of minimally invasive cavity preparation techniques and some of the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques.