From prevention to therapy: minimal intervention with sealants and resin restorative materials

The breakthrough discovery of the acid-etch procedure by Buonocore in the mid-1950s laid the groundwork for the development of pit and fissure sealant as the best preventive agent for use against the development and progression of pit and fissure caries. The acid-etch technique is also the foundational technology behind the ability for clinical dentistry to adapt to a more conservative, minimally invasive, approach to restorative dentistry. The 1970s saw the acid etch technique developed the first foray into minimally invasive operative approaches, which was termed the Preventive Resin Restoration. With the development of the etching of porcelain, additional uses of the acid-etch technique (not discussed here) have led to other conservative procedures such as the porcelain veneer technique and the restorative uses of bonded, etched porcelain, and bonded fixed partial dentures.