Objectives The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) and its associated International Caries Classification and Management System (ICCMS ^™), explain the evolution of these systems over the past decade and outline how they are being used for staging of the caries process in order to enable dentists to manage caries appropriately. Methods the article outlines and references the key steps in development of these systems. Results ICDAS employs an evidence-based and preventively oriented approach, is a detection and assessment system classifying stages of the caries process on the basis of histological extent and activity, is designed for use in the four domains of clinical practice, education, research and public health and provides all stakeholders with a common language for staging caries. Over a decade ICDAS has evolved to comprise a number of approved, compatible 'formats', supports decision making at both individual and public health levels and has generated the ICCMS^™ to enable improved long-term caries outcomes. A range of further developments are in train, to assist with information capture and making clinical systems simpler and more practice friendly. Conclusion ICDAS provides flexible and increasingly internationally adopted methods for classifying stages of the caries process and the activity status of lesions which can be incorporated into the ICCMS^™. The ICCMS ^™ provides options to enable dentists to integrate and synthesize tooth and patient information, including caries risk status, in order to plan, manage and review caries in clinical and public health practice.