Resumo

MORENO, Sandra et al. Restauraciones preventivas en resina como estrategia para control de la morfología dental. Acta odontol. venez [online]. 2007, vol.45, n.4, pp.580-588. ISSN 0001-6365.

Dental morphology is one of multiple causative factors contributing to caries development, as it can be a dental plaque retention factor and it may difficult oral hygiene techniques. Under the preventive approach of actual dentistry, dental sealants have showed to be an effective tool to modify the retention characteristics of pits and fissures, and their use in promotion and prevention programs in oral health is massive. Despite clinical success of sealants application, there are still errors in diagnosis and lack of knowledge about dental morphology, which is highly variable among individuals. In this literature review are presented morphologic dental characteristics within the concepts of dental anthropology, describing their expression and variability as factors that influence dental plaque retention, and the role of preventive resin restorations in the control of dental morphology traits is also described.

Palavras-chave : Dental morphology; Non-metric dental traits; Dental plaque; Preventive composite restorations.