Management and Prevention of Age-Relevant Caries Risk

Dental caries still represents one of the most common pathologies globally. Early diagnosis and timely and targeted intervention can avoid the unbalance of the stomatognathic system. The aim of the study was to conduct a literature review to identify the best performing procedures in intercepting the age-relevant caries risk factors. Studies of the last five years were included in the review, from 2013 to 2018, relating to professional treatments in primary and secondary caries prevention. PICOs and PRISMA methods were used in the formulation of the research question and selection of the articles. The final search string obtained is as follows:”early enamel lesion” OR “caries non cavitated” AND “treatment” OR “minimal intervention” OR “remineralization”. Sevenhundred total articles were selected. Following the abstracts and full texts reading, a final number of 64 articles was reached. Type of patient included age ranges from childhood to over 70 years. To improve readability and usability of the review results, we developed a table sorted by age ranges, topography of carious lesion, risk factors, highlighting the most effective treatments to be performed.The final diagram categorizes the scientific papers according to the age range and type of preventive tool and material: 5 articles (8%) relate to remineralizing pastes; 29 articles (45%) to sealants; 20 articles (31%) to fluoride; 10 articles (16%) to possible associations and comparisons between abovementioned products. Minimally invasive treatment turns out to be the most effective tool capable of supporting the “teeth for life” motto, with selective interventions capable of reducing the clinical impact and economic burden of carious pathology.