Hands on Caries Management and GI Sealant Training: Stop Restoring, Start Preventing

Course Description:

Dental caries is an infectious disease affecting children and adults throughout life. This course will address current trends in caries disease management utilizing  caries management by risk assessment (CAMBRA). This evidence-based methodology identifies the cause of disease by assessing risk factors for each individual patient thereby assisting the clinician to correct problems by managing the risk factors using specific treatment recommendations including behavioral, chemical, and minimally invasive procedures.

The first portion of the course will review current updates in cariology, caries risk assessment, chemical treatment protocols using an interactive and hands-on approach.  A caries classification system to address these different tooth sites and include a mechanism to track all stages of a caries lesion will be introduced. New terminology, detection techniques, treatment thresholds, and use of dental materials, will be presented.   Next, emphasis will be placed on hands-on training using GI sealants. Clinicians and their teams will be able to redirect management from a pure restorative (surgical) approach to an evidence-based (preventive/therapeutic) approach based on caries risk, and location and extent of disease.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to teach the “5 ingredients for remineralization”.

2. Participants will be able to properly perform a caries risk assessment and propose evidence-based treatment options to the patient.

3. Participants will be proficient at placing a glass ionomer sealant.