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Background: The management of carious lesions in children and adolescents can have lifelong implications for the patient. The aim of this study was to assess the decision-making process of dentists when managing carious lesions in children and adolescents.Methods: Approximately, 11 000 dentists listed as members of the Australian Dental Association Inc. (ADA) and Australian and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry (ANZSPD) were emailed a link in April 2017 to a 19-question survey delivered by SurveyMonkey™.Results: In this study, 887 responses were received. In 'enamel-limited' carious lesions, dentists intervened most frequently in primary tooth approximal (365, 41.1%), followed by permanent tooth occlusal (295, 33.3%) and approximal (244, 27.5%), and primary tooth occlusal (203, 22.9%) surface carious lesions. Age, university of graduation, practicing state, decade of graduation and frequency of treatment of children between 6 and 15 years were significant demographic factors influencing the restorative threshold.Conclusions: Australian dentists reported significant variation in their management of approximal and occlusal carious lesions in both primary and permanent teeth. A substantial proportion of respondents would intervene surgically on non-cavitated enamel-limited lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Worldwide, molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) affects a substantial number of children and impacts greatly on treatment need and dental anxiety, yet there is little information regarding its prevalence, aetiology, presentation and management. The aims of this survey were to assess awareness and perceptions of the Australian paediatric dental community concerning MIH, and to describe current treatment strategies., Methods: A questionnaire, based upon a previous European study, was sent to all Australian members of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry. The questionnaire sought information on clinical experience of MIH, knowledge of prevalence, aetiology and contemporary management strategies for MIH., Results: One hundred and thirty useable responses were received (58.8 per cent response rate) of which 36 were paediatric dentists, 6 paediatric dentistry postgraduate students, 59 general dentists, 14 dental therapists and 14 specialists in other fields. Most (98.5 per cent) respondents were familiar with MIH and encountered it in their practice. The majority (73.1 per cent) estimated that MIH occurred in between 5 to 25 per cent of their clinical practice and almost all (96.9 per cent) considered it to be a clinical problem. Only 16.9 per cent of respondents were aware of existing prevalence data and 96.9 per cent valued investigating the prevalence of MIH. No consensus existed regarding the aetiology of MIH or its restorative management. Paediatric dentists used preformed crowns significantly more than non-specialists, however glass ionomer cements were popular with all groups., Conclusions: MIH is a well recognized and widely encountered clinical condition. MIH presents several clinical problems and is worthy of further investigation. Currently, no consistent clinical management strategies are utilized.