The philosophy of restorative dentistry has completely changed during the last decades. There are basically two important factors, which are to blame for this.
1 - The severe caries decline observed in the industrialized countries.
2 - the available reliable dental adhesives.

As a consequence of this, the dentist is more often confronted with small lesions. Furthermore, the cavity preparation rules are not dictated anymore mainly by the materials characteristics, but by the extension of the lesion. The minimally invasive approach is the key to success, because we can conserve as much sound tooth substance as possible. Sound tooth substance is only removed to get access to the lesion and to be able to inspect it.

Adhesive technology allows to reinforce the dental unit, which enables the dentist to truly restore the tooth to its original strength. For the patients, esthetics are the most evident advantages of the adhesive dentistry and generally they are more satisfied with tooth colored restorations .
Also in the posterior segment, aesthetics can be easily achieved with composite resins, however there are some rules and limitations to be respected.