Recent Advances in Diagnosis and Management of Dental Caries

Dental caries is a complex and dynamic process where a multitude of factors initiate and influence the progression of the disease. Finding an accurate method for detecting and diagnosing any disease has been the goal of the healing arts since the time of Socrates. The proper management of caries in clinical practice requires an accurate clinical diagnosis. Accurate diagnosis can only be achieved by systematic and methodical collection of data. Thus, early and accurate detection and diagnosis of dental caries are an important component of the overall management of dental patient. It is imperative that the diagnostic methods with suitable level of sensitivity and specificity are used in conjunction to obtain a valid diagnosis. Advanced diagnostic technologies are increasingly playing a more key role in this process, both in data collection and assessment capabilities and the utilization of the information obtained.