Minimally Invasive Pediatric Dentistry: Caries Disease Management Models for your Practice

Introduction: The dental profession has typically viewed dentistry as traditional surgical treatment of the disease versus managing the chronic nature of the disease process surrounding dental caries. Dentistry is currently moving away from surgical approaches for treatment of caries as new innovative caries disease management techniques provide dentists with options in offering non-surgical modes of therapy for their patients. Dentists have the obligation to provide the risks, benefits and alternatives for both surgical and non-surgical therapies in managing dental caries. Goal: The participant will be able to consider and utilize non-surgical treatment modalities for carious lesions in contemporary pediatric restorative dentistry and caries prevention.

Objectives: After attending this presentation, the participant should be able to: Understand the supporting literature for non-invasive/minimally-invasive dental therapies Identify appropriate patients for minimally invasive dentistry Patients with special health care needs Pre-cooperative patients Patients that are not candidates for traditional surgical techniques including treatment under oral conscious sedation or general anesthesia Patients with financial obstacles or lack of access to care Understand and apply various forms of minimally invasive dentistry including: Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) Silver-Modified Atraumatic Restorative Technique (SMART) Interim Therapeutic Restoration (ITR) Hall Crown Resin Infiltration Etch-Bleach-Seal