The American Dental Association (ADA) has published a new guideline that recommends that “conservative methods to treat tooth decay” could have better results when used with common restorative materials. This guideline was published in The Journal of the American Dental Association after a panel of dentists extensively reviewed approximately 300 studies.
The ADA also reports that “conservative carious tissue removal (CTR) – in which a dentist removes infected tissue while preserving as much of the original tooth structure as possible – is less likely to result in adverse outcomes like nerve exposure or a failed filling.”
The guideline was authored by the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs and the Clinical and Translation Research team within the ADA Science and Research Institute. The full restoration guide and list of recommendations can be found at ada.org/cariesguidelines.
