title: Do we need to be concerned about dental caries in the coming millennium?
abstract: Dental caries continues to be a pubic health problem despite claims that 50% of schoolchildren are caries-free. There are widespread variations in the prevalence of caries worldwide. Caries lesions are the clinical manifestation of a pathogenic process that may have been occurring on the tooth surface for months or years. Acid production by bacteria embedded in a biofilm termed "dental plaque" is a key aspect of the pathogenesis of dental caries; nevertheless, the ability of micro-organisms to survive in a hostile acid milieu and the influence of fluoride and additional agents on this acid tolerance receive scant attention. Study of cariogenic micro-organisms largely has been limited to observations made on them in the planktonic state; clearly dental caries is essentially a surface phenomenon, and micro-organisms behave distinctively when grown on a surface. Although significant progress has been made in our understanding of the etiology, pathogenesis, and prevention of dental caries, it still remains a scientific and clinical enigma worthy of the attention of the best scientists.
authors.affiliation: Center for Oral Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. william_bowen@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Bowen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D002326:Cariogenic Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology*; D003732:Dental Caries Activity Tests; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D005459:Fluorides / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005936:Glucans / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D006867:Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D002326:Cariogenic Agents; D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D005936:Glucans; D006867:Hydrolases; C019723:arginine deiminase; D005459:Fluorides