[The significance of generally accepted rules and their criteria in the discussion on the quality of dental treatment].

The significance of generally accepted rules and their criteria in the discussion on the quality of dental treatment is pointed out. The fact that dental treatment is based not only on empirical but to a great extent also on hypothetically established rules emphasizes the importance of epidemiologic clinical research. Dental treatment cannot be considered purely under the aspects of mechanics. The consideration of dental activities by mechanical and technical parameters alone is not permissible, because this approach disregards the non-mechanical nature of dental interventions.