Issue: Volume 14, Issue 2
Release Date: 1 May 2021

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The Assessment and Minimally Invasive Management of Existing Restorations

Igor R Blum, DDS (Hons), PhD, Dr Med Dent, MSc, MFDS RCS (Eng), MFDS RCS (Edin), FDS (Rest Dent) RCS, FFGDP(UK), FCGDent, PGCHE, FHEA, LLM (Medico-legal), Reader in Primary Dental Care and Advanced General Dental Practice, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK; Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry, King’s College Hospital, London, UK; Consultant in Restorative Dentistry, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire NHS Trust, UK.

This article provides an overview of current knowledge and understanding of existing criteria for the assessment of dental restorations and encourages dental practitioners to shift, if not already doing so, to considering minimally invasive interventions for manging deteriorating restorations. The repair of restorations in such a way extends longevity of the restoration without sacrificing intact, healthy tooth tissue, and is in the best interest of patients in terms of biological and economic costs. The replacement of a restoration should be only considered as a last resort, when there are no other viable alternatives.

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