Background: Many chemomechanical caries removal (CMCR) agents have been introduced and marketed since 1970s, with each new one being better and effective than the previously introduced. Papacarie and Carisolv are new systems in the field of CMCR techniques. These are reportedly minimally invasive methods of removing carious dentin while preserving sound dentin.
Aim: To compare the Efficiency (time taken for caries removal) and effectiveness (Knoop hardness number of the remaining dentin) of caries removal by three minimally invasive methods, i.e. hand excavation and chemomechanical caries removal using Carisolv and Papacarie.
Materials and methods: Thirty recently extracted human permanent molars with occlusal carious lesions were divided randomly in three equal groups and bisected through the middle of the lesion mesiodistally and excavated by two methods on each tooth.
Results: Statistically significant difference was present among three methods with respect to time and knoop hardness values (KHN) of the remaining dentin.
Conclusion: The Efficiency of Hand method is better compared to CMCR techniques and effectiveness of CMCR techniques is better than Hand method in terms of dentin preservation so the chances of maintaining vitality of the pulp will be enhanced. How to cite this article: Boob AR, Manjula M, Reddy ER, Srilaxmi N, Rani T. Evaluation of the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Three Minimally Invasive Methods of Caries Removal: An in vitro Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2014;7(1):11-18.
Keywords: Carisolv; Chemomechanical caries removal; Knoop hardness number; Papacarie.