Objectives: The aim of the present study was to compare the caries removal by bur and by chemo mechanical method using Carisolv and their effect on the micro hardness, the surface topography and the inorganic composition of dentin. Methods: 40 freshly extracted carious molars with cavitated dentinal lesion were stored in saline. The teeth were randomly divided into 2 groups of 20 teeth each. In Group -I Caries removal was done using bur and in Group-II Caries removal was done chemo mechanically using Carisolv. After caries removal of all the teeth, 10 teeth from each group were prepared for micro hardness testing using a Vickers hardness tester. The remaining 10 teeth from each group were randomly divided into 2 subgroups of 5 teeth each. One subgroup from both Groups I and II were acid etched with phosphoric acid and the other sub-group was kept untreated. The teeth were subjected to SEM and EDS analysis for surface topography and elemental analysis. Results: Dentin micro hardness of the surface was not affected on caries removal using a bur. Dentin micro hardness was lower on surface when caries removal was performed using Carisolv. Caries removal using bur leaves more amount of smear layer on comparison with dentin after caries removal with the use of Carisolv. Etching the caries removed dentin surface produced a surface similar to that of etched normal dentin. The mineral content of the dentin surface was not altered by the use of Carisolv. Conclusion: From this study, it could be concluded that Carisolv produced a softer dentinal surface and less amount of smear layer than using bur to remove caries.