Overtreatment in Caries Management? A Literature Review Perspective and Recommendations for Clinicians

Dentistry, like various branches in the healthcare profession, is susceptible to overtreatment, especially in the management of dental caries, due to the adoption of an aggressive restorative approach. This philosophy provides no actual benefits to the patient in terms of arresting the disease process, which initially led to the carious lesions. Yet practitioners routinely continue to initiate restorative treatment procedures without attempting to understand and alter the biologic factors contributing to the caries process. This paper examines the available scientific literature in this regard and makes recommendations to the clinicians of today based on the available evidence. CPD/Clinical Relevance: The paper provides clinicians an approach to avoiding overtreatment by adhering to established clinical guidelines and accepted operative strategies.