Current Research in Dental Sciences, vol.34, no.3, pp.230-237, 2024 (Scopus)
Chemomechanical caries removal, developed on the basis of a minimally invasive dentistry philosophy. It is described as a non-invasive technique in which infected dentin is chemically softened with a chemomechanical agent and the softened dentin is gently removed by an excavator. This method causes collapse of degraded collagen and only removes infected dentin layers. The most important feature of this method is it shows which dentine to be removed and which dentine will be left. This method is particularly well accepted among children and patients with dental anxiety. Chemomechanical caries removal agents are divided into two groups as sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) based and enzymatic based. Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCI) based ones: GK-101, GK-101E (Caridex) and Carisolv. Enzymatic based ones: Papacarie, Apacaries gel, Carie-Care, Biosolv and Brix-3000. The purpose of this review is to explain chemomechanical caries removal methods and their working mechanisms.