Minimal intervention dentistry in general practice.

Minimal Intervention Dentistry (MID) is a modern approach to the management of caries, which emphasizes prevention and early interception of disease, underpinned by an understanding of the role of the dental plaque biofilm in disease initiation and progression, and how this is affected by lifestyle and behavioral factors. The MID approach should be the standard of care in modern restorative dentistry, as it avoids over-zealous restorative interventions as well as supervised neglect. Incorporating the principles of MID into general dental practice for the management of dental caries involves using Caries Risk Assessment (CRA), as well as a minimally invasive restorative approach utilizing conservative caries removal methods, minimal cavity designs and the use of adhesive restorative materials. A range of methods now exist for measuring the contribution of risk factors to dental caries risk, allowing the clinician to target their interventions at the factors operating in the individual patient, by applying the concepts of ecological change to modify the biofilm, and motivational interviewing to alter patient lifestyle and dietary behaviour. This review discusses how the principles of MID are used for individual patient care, and suggests methods for implementation of MID into general dental practice.