Dental Caries and Hypomineralised Enamel - What a Clinical Nightmare

Course Outline 
Dental caries, a behaviourally driven bacterial disease with  genetic influences, is one of the most prevalent primarily preventable conditions on the globe the past 50 years the prevention of dental caries has concentrated on the delivery of fluoride, however, the action of fluoride is limited somewhat by the presence of bio available calcium and phosphate. Several products containing calcium and phosphate are now available commercially – these will be discussed. The management of carious lesions has changed markedly over the past decade or so, and new guidelines for tissue removal have been released. Carious tissue removal will be discussed, in conjunction with stainless steel crowns and the Hall technique for restorative care.

Treating children with molar incisor hypomineralisation MIH can be difficult, especially in those individuals with severely affected permanent molars. Weaker resin to enamel bond strengths can be increased in vitro, however, the clinical implications of this are untested. The well recognised issues of rapid breakdown of the enamel and subsequent carious lesion development associated with refractory pulpal sensitivity can challenge even the most skilled clinician. For severely affected teeth the decision between the placement of preformed metal crowns or the planned extraction of one or more teeth can be complicated and require multidisciplinary advice.

Course Topics
• What causes dental caries and MIH?
• Treatment planning for the child with caries and/or MIH
• What are your treatment options?
• When and how to place Stainless Steel (preformed) crowns

Learning Objectives 
• To explain the pathogenesis, prevalence and clinical features of dental caries and hypomineralised enamel
• To discuss the clinical consequences of dental caries  and hypomineralised enamel on treatment planning and clinical care
• To gain the knowledge and skill to determine when and how to place Stainless Steel (preformed) crowns.