The proportion of dental hygienists in oral health care for children is not consistent with the potential of the profession. Developments in cariology point in a direction that fits the profile of the dental hygienist. Stimulation of a re-allocation of jobs in paediatric dentistry in relation to dental hygienists is therefore desirable. Moreover, tackling the causes of oral diseases should be an objective to a greater degree than has been the case in the past. For caries treatment this would mean giving priority to a plaque-related treatment. That amounts to: a non-invasive approach to non-cavitated caries lesions in permanent and temporary dentition and a non-restorative approach to cavitated caries lesions in temporary dentition.