MINIMAL INTERVENTION DENTISTRY: REPAIR RATHER THAN REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE RESTORATION

Dentistry, as a profession, has expended years of effort into the management of dental caries, with vast amounts of research being directed towards its prevention. Attempts to understand the concept of dental caries, from its aetiology to its progression and the subsequent consequences affecting the orodental complex have led to a plethora of thoughts and management approaches, the earliest of them being that of Dr. G.V. Black. The surgical approach to the elimination of a caries lesion, proposed by Dr. Black more than a century ago, was widely accepted and practiced until two decades ago. Research over the last 30 years, has made it possible to modify this age-old approach to the management of dental caries.
As stated by Markely MR (1966), a strong proponent of preventive dentistry, the central concept in the modern approach to the dentist’s role is the treatment of dental caries: the loss of even a part of a human tooth should be considered a serious injury and dentistry’s goal should be to preserve healthy natural tooth structure.
With more emphasis being laid on preventive rather than therapeutic care for dental caries, the approach to managing the disease has undergone a revolutionary change backed by sound scientific evidence. The disease should be treated first & the surgical approach should be undertaken as a last resort, with removal of as little natural tooth structure as possible. The goal of a restorative dentist in the 21st century should be to delay/prevent placement of initial restoration. Hence, it is now time to encourage the profession to adopt a new overall concept called ‘Minimal Intervention Dentistry’ [MID]