Abstract: Dental caries has historically been considered the most important global oral health burden. Global epidemiological data have demonstrated that despite a decline in the prevalence of dental caries over the last decades, it is a prominent oral health problem in all age groups.
Dental caries is a disease resulting from an ecologic shift within the dental biofilm, from balanced to an acidogenic, acido-uric and cariogenic microbiological population, developed and maintained by frequent consumption of fermentable carbohydrates, associated with an imbalance between de- and remineralization leading to net mineral loss within dental hard tissues, the sign and symptom being a carious lesion.
In recent years, excessive removal of sound tooth tissue was no longer recommended, In relation to this, stepwise removal and selective removal of carious tissue are procedures based on the concept of minimal intervention dentistry, which aims at maintaining as much healthy tooth
structure as possible, hence keeping teeth functional, supporting an up-to-date way to manage dental carious lesions. Also it was found that Selective removal resulted in greater success of maintaining pulp vitality compared with both stepwise excavation and nonselective removal.
Objectives: 1. New definition of caries
2. Caries progress consequences on dental hard tissues
3. A clinical guide to minimal invasive selective caries removal.