Some 2,500 years ago, Hippocrates already knew that prevention is more important than curative therapy. In the modern-day context, Benz stated that prevention is the most effective dental treatment we have developed in 150 years of scientific dentistry.1 Yet, it is doubtful whether the often-cited paradigm shift away from restoration to prevention has really taken place.2 The following article discusses the standing of prevention in contemporary dentistry and positions systematic prophylaxis-guided biofilm therapy within the prevention landscape.