Minimally Invasive Dentistry for Caries Management

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent oral diseases in the world. It remains a huge global burden of health; around 2.3 billion people have untreated dental caries in their permanent teeth. The conventional restorative treatments of dental caries require the use of a highspeed handpiece and air-water syringe, which can generate aerosols containing bacteria and viruses. Recently, the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has caused the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Studies have reported that COVID-19 may spread through aerosols. Minimally invasive dentistry (MID) is a concept defined as the maximal preservation of healthy dental tissues. MID in caries management can embrace all available techniques, including caries diagnosis, risk assessment, caries prevention, and minimally invasive treatments, such as fluoride therapies and atraumatic restorative treatment. In line with the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of MID is particularly important since the comprised strategies are non- or low-aerosol-generating procedures, which can lower the risk of virus transmission.

In this Research Topic, we would like to welcome high-quality papers regarding MID for caries management. Different strategies under the MID concept will be introduced and discussed. We expect that dental professionals, especially clinicians, will gain insightful knowledge and ideas from this Research Topic, and we hope that the research published herein will help them to modify their clinical practices for caries management under the COVID-19 pandemic.

This Research Topic will welcome manuscripts including, but not limited to:
• Original research (both clinical and lab studies) of MID for caries management;
• Community projects adopting MID for caries management;
• Reviews of caries management strategies under the concept of MID;
• Communications and discussions of MID in cariology.