Causes and Control of Dental Caries

Abstract

DENTAL caries (tooth decay) is a chronic infectious disease in which the active agent or agents are members of the indigenous oral flora. Carious lesions result primarily from the dissolution of mineral in enamel and dentin by acids produced during metabolism of food residues by microorganisms colonizing tooth surfaces.^{1 2 3} When dentin, with its 20-fold higher protein content than enamel, is invaded, proteolysis and possibly chelation also occur.Numerous archaeological reports indicate that carious lesions were infrequent in humans during antiquity.^{4 , 5} In England, the frequency of caries was low as recently as Saxon times.⁶ Major increases occurred during the Middle Ages, . . .