Management of the caries process on occlusal surfaces of permanent molars has proven a major challenge. The onset of caries on these surfaces takes place soon after their eruption, and the permanent first molars, followed by the second molars, remain the sites in the dentition which show the highest caries prevalence. This paper is structured in the form of questions and answers in which tradit...

Commercially available caries-detector dyes are purported to aid the dentist in differentiation of infected dentin, yet research has established that these dyes are not specific for infected dentin. They are non-specific protein dyes that stain the organic matrix of less mineralized dentin, including normal circumpulpal dentin and sound dentin in the area of the amelo-dentinal junction. A consi...

This paper reviews the first part of the outcomes of the ORCA Saturday Afternoon Symposium 2014 dealing with 'caries epidemiology and community dentistry: chances for future improvements in caries risk groups'. After the caries decline in many countries, there are remaining pockets of higher caries levels, mostly in the primary dentition and/or linked to a low socio-economic status (SES). The r...

Numerous studies have related dental caries experience of children with the frequency of their toothbrushing or with their oral cleanliness at the time of examination. Conflicting results were obtained and, therefore, no conclusions may be drawn from these studies. In other studies, the incidence of new carious lesions over a number of years was related to oral cleanliness during the same perio...

1 DDS, PhD, Post-doctorate student, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Piracicaba (SP), Brazil; Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, Faculdade de Odontologia de Araraquara, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (Unesp), Araraquara (SP), Brazil 2 DDS, MS, Doctorate Stude...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intensity of fluorescent light reflected from cavity wall dentin, after dentin stained by an experimental caries detecting liquid was removed. BACKGROUND DATA The conventional caries detecting liquid tends to penetrate dentin too deeply. On the other hand, DIAGNOdent has gradually gained recognition and established itself as a caries det...

Our aim was to evaluate haptic virtual reality (VR) simulation with repetitive training as a tool in teaching caries removal (CR) and periodontal pocket probing (PPP) skills. For the CR simulation, multilayered virtual models composed of tooth substance, caries, and pulp were developed. Seven students completed three training sessions each, which were scored based on the volume of the cut regio...

BACKGROUND Chemomechanical caries removal is an effective alternative to the traditional rotary drilling method. The advantages of chemomechanical techniques in terms of the need for anesthesia, pain perception and patient preference are systematically reviewed and a meta-analysis of the time required for caries removal is reported. METHOD Randomized controlled studies of comparison of chemom...

Purpose proper chewing and swallowing functions have great importance in general health, since it potentially affects food's digestion and the subject's nutritional status. The aim was to assess the validity and reliability of the self-applied Quality of Masticatory Function Questionnaire (QMFQ) in a convenience (non-referred) sample of Brazilian adolescents divided into three groups: control (...

Minimum intervention dentistry (MID) is the modern medical approach to the management of caries, utilizing caries risk assessment, and focusing on the early prevention and interception of disease. Moving the focus away from the restoration of teeth allows the dentist to achieve maximum intervention, with minimal invasive treatments. The four core principles of MID can be considered to be: (1) R...