Evaluation of Therapeutic Decision for Treatment of Carious Lesions by Dental Students

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic decision making for the academic of the last year of dentistry at the universities of the Distrito Federal, on dental caries in deciduous teeth and permanent young. Material and Methods: The evaluation was obtained through the application of a questionnaire containing a diagram representing five different stages of deep carious lesions on interproximal radiographs. Were selected through census of students enrolled last semester of each institution and concluded that the theoretical discipline of pediatric dentistry in accordance with the curriculum offered by the University. Data were analyzed statistically by the chi-square test the 5% level of significance. Results: We analyzed 132 questionnaires of which 30.3% of respondents opted for immediate restorative treatment for the injuries to deciduous teeth in the dentin-enamel junction to the permanent tooth, the percentage rose to 31.1%, revealing that there was similarity between universities about which strategy to use. Regarding caries removal there was a discrepancy in an institution compared the other in choosing the more invasive treatment (p = 0.0014). Conclusion: We see the need to implement teaching strategies for the training of a professional within the philosophy of minimum intervention.