Preservation of a compromised tooth element is the main goal of these branches of dentistry.

Modern conservative dentistry is based on the concept of minimal invasiveness, with only carious tissue being removed and replaced with a restorative material that is bonded directly to healthy tissue.

Indeed, in recent years, silver amalgams (which required retentive, thus extensive, preparation) have been almost abandoned in favor of composites (esthetic fillings). Nano-technological restorative materials, composite inlays, state-of-the-art adhesive techniques, extremely flexible root canal instruments-all these allow excellent results with high predictability of outcomes.