Dr. John Maggio is assistant professor at SUNY Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, where he supervises students in the predoctoral dental clinic. He directs the third year Cariology and Direct Restorations lecture courses. He has developed protocols for caries management and operative dentistry in the school’s dental clinics. He is chair of the Curriculum Committee.

Dr. Maggio is a member of the CAMBRA Coalition and the American Academy of Cariology. He reviews articles for submission to the Journal of the American Dental Association. He teaches fast-paced, evidence-based continuing education courses in restorative dentistry and caries management to dentists and their teams.

Dr. Maggio is a 1989 graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. He has a private general practice in Tonawanda, New York. He lives with his wife and daughter in Amherst, New York.

What’s the best way to approach a large carious lesion? Can we avoid exposure of the pulp and endodontic therapy if the tooth is vital and asymptomatic? What will happen if we leave some soft dentin under a well-sealed restoration? What does the scientific evidence tell us?

The “medical model” requires that dentists understand the caries disease process, and use that knowledge to treat affected teeth appropriately. In this course, Dr. Maggio provides a literature review as a framework for rethinking our approach to caries as a disease.

Specific guidelines will be developed for treatment of very deep lesions, small carious lesions, and recurrent caries. Many clinical cases will be presented, to directly apply this information to the dentist’s daily routine.

After completing the course, you will:

• see caries as a disease process and treat lesions using the “medical model”
  
• understand the nature of soft dentin, and its ability to be remineralized
  
• be able to choose between indirect pulp caps, “stepwise excavation”, and “ultraconservative caries removal”
  
• know the indications for, and advantages of, glass ionomer materials, including the “open sandwich technique”
  
• be familiar with “atraumatic” caries removal