[Preventive dentistry 9. Non-Restorative Cavity Treatment: advanced insight or controversial?]

Non-Restorative Cavity Treatment (NRCT) is not as popular in paediatric dentistry as it should be. Substantial quantitative and qualitative evidence concerning the treatment has now been published that testifies to the success of the treatment. Some healthcare providers apply the method successfully, while others have no trust in this non-invasive cavity treatment and continue to favour the restoration of carious lesions. Reasons given for this are, among others, that NRCT is too bothersome, the patient's (or the patient's parents') compliance is low and the reimbursement is inadequate. Children, however, benefit from oral healthcare providers who take the position that a child has a right to an etiological treatment that addresses the source of the caries process and that NRCT offers a uniquely viable treatment option for this purpose. This approach fits within the parameters established by professional ethics and the law. Apart from oral healthcare providers, all agencies involved in the profession and beyond have the moral and social obligation to do justice to the implied question of the child regarding this shift in oral healthcare.