Fernando Borba Araújo

Contemporary approach to dental caries in childhood: preventive and therapeutic aspects

  • Full Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
  • PhD in Pediatric Dentistry from USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
  • Professor of the Post-Graduate Program in Dental Medicine, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
  • Coordinator of the Specialization course in Pediatric Dentistry, UFRGS (1985/2017)
  • Coordinator of the Specialization course in Pediatric Dentistry, UNIABO.RS, Brazil (since 2012)
  • Coordinator of the Specialization course in Pediatric Dentistry of Zenith Institute, SC (1st group 2018-2020)
  • Researcher of Research Productivity at CNPq (2016-2019)
  • Author of about 120 papers in national and international publications
  • Lecturer in about 500 courses in Brazil, USA and Europe
  • Private dental clinic for babies, children and adolescents in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil (since 1982)

Nationality: Brazil

Scientific areas: Pediatric dentistry

15 of november, from 14h30 until 19h00

Auditório C

Conference summary

Currently, Dental Caries is treated by the World Health Organization as a non-communicable (non-communicable, behavioral aspects) disease, which has the same cause of other diseases as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Thus, by acting on common risk factors, it is easier to reduce a greater number of diseases.

It is a multifactorial disease, of continuous progression, dependent biofilm-sugar that occurs in a complex and dynamic way from an imbalance between the tooth and the adjacent biofilm (Cury & Tenuta, 2009; Kidd & Fejerskov 2013). If there is no change in the etiological factors of the disease, the incipient lesions (white spots) will progress to the formation of cavities, which may in future compromise the tooth endodontically and even lead to its loss.

The early detection of active carious lesions allows a more conservative therapeutic approach, allowing paralysis of the lesions and avoiding damages resulting from the progress of the process. In addition, the reduction of caries prevalence that has been occurring in the last decades in most countries (Gimenez et al., 2010, Bénecker et al., 2010, Dye et al., 2015) is accompanied by a decrease in the rate of disease progression. This is reflected in greater difficulty in the detection of lesions (Nyvad et al., 1999). On the other hand, the prognosis of treatment for most individuals affected by the disease in the early stages is much better.

Given this reality, the philosophy of minimal intervention has been shown to be the best strategy for approaching caries disease. This philosophy is based on the detection and diagnosis of caries lesion activity and subsequent identification of the etiological factors for the choice of the best treatment and consequent prognosis to the patient (Tyas et al., 2000). It will be presented aspects related to the minimally invasive approach of caries (both in the disease and in the lesions), the clinical decision making aiming at the control of the disease, as well as the monitoring of the health-disease process in the individual.