General remarks about minimal intervention dentistry

Introduction: minimal intervention treatments for dental caries enrich dental practice by incorporating detection, diagnosis and microscopic techniques into it. Objective: characterize minimal intervention in the treatment of dental caries by means of a bibliographic review about the subject. Methods: a review was conducted of the literature about minimal intervention in dentistry, using the search engines and platforms SciELO, Hinari and Medline. Twenty-five high impact journals were reviewed. The papers included were in English or Spanish. The descriptors used in the search wereminimal intervention, minimally invasive dentistry, cariology, minimal intervention dentistry, current treatments for dental caries and minimal intervention philosophy, as well as combinations thereof and their counterparts in Spanish. 204 papers were obtained. After being filtered, the sample was composed of 32 scientific journals and one book, i.e. the materials that approached the topic in a more comprehensive manner. 97 % of the bibliography reviewed had been published in the last five years. Data integration: an analysis was conducted about prevention, remineralization and minimal intervention techniques for the removal of dental caries. Conclusions: Minimal intervention dentistry is characterized by adopting a position in which intervention or preparation of dental tissue is the last choice of therapy resorted to after applying a whole set of prevention and remineralization techniques.