What is the primary principle of Minimally Invasive Dentistry in caries management?

• A. Preserve tooth structure by prevention, early detection, and micro- or non-invasive interventions before conventional drilling.
• B. Remove caries aggressively with drilling.
• C. Rely exclusively on fluoride varnish to manage all caries.
• D. Extract decayed teeth as soon as caries is detected.

Answer: (A)

Minimally Invasive Dentistry centers on preserving tooth structure by preventing caries, detecting lesions early, and using non-invasive or micro-invasive treatments to arrest or remineralize disease before conventional drilling becomes necessary. This means focusing on risk assessment, preventive measures (like fluoride, sealants, diet and hygiene counseling), and monitoring early or non-cavitated lesions so that we can manage them with remineralization strategies, resin infiltration, sealing, or micro-restorations. Only if the disease progresses to a stage where restoration is unavoidable do we intervene, and even then the goal is to conserve as much healthy tooth structure as possible. In contrast, aggressive drilling, relying solely on fluoride varnish for all lesions, or extracting teeth at detection do not align with this approach.