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Key Points
- Under the traditional surgical model, dental caries treatment has been a process of identifying carious lesions and restoring them.
- Under the medical model of dental caries management, caries is viewed as a continuum of disease caused by specific pathogens, with patients at varying degrees of risk. To manage the disease, dentists must consider the specific pathogens involved and infectivity, as well as prevention and treatment modalities that address the infection. They must also surgically repair (restore) defects resulting from tooth destruction.
- Historically, all patients were thought to be at the same risk for caries. However, research has shown that risk assessment is necessary for optimal treatment.
- Some of the misconceptions underpinning the traditional surgical model of dental caries treatment are (1) all dental plaque is considered pathogenic, (2) all dental caries is inevitable, (3) dental caries diagnosis is easy, and (4) diagnosis or suspicion of dental caries should lead to restoration.
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