Smiles For Tomorrow
Dental Caries and Prevention

Dental Caries
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that caries is the most prevalent infectious disease in our nation’s children. Early childhood caries (ECC) can be a particularly virulent form of caries, beginning soon after primary tooth eruption, usually developing first on smooth surfaces, progressing rapidly, having a lasting detrimental impact on the dentition.

Newer theories on the etiology of tooth decay and transmission of causative organisms highlight the fact that dental caries is an infectious and communicable disease. This review of the caries process covers:

• Etiology and Transmission
• The Caries Process
• Patterns of Decay
• Caries Risk Assessment
• Anticipatory Guidance

Etiology and Transmission

In the simplest terms, the process of dental caries can be illustrated by this Venn diagram:

• Susceptible tooth
• Presence of bacteria
• Access to fermentable carbohydrates and cooked starches
• Time

Bacteria use dietary fermentable carbohydrates (principally sugars and cooked starches) as a substrate for acid production, resulting in a lowering of the pH of the area. Species of Streptococcus and Lactobacillus are most often implicated in the caries process.

However, we now know that caries is a multifactorial, chronic disease with many outside influences.