Introduction to Dental Caries Flashcards
What is caries?
Dental caries is a multifactorial, transmissible, infectious oral disease caused primarily by the complex interaction of cariogenic oral flora (biofilm) with fermentable dietary carbohydrates on the tooth surface over time.
What 4 things does dental caries need to grow?
- Fermentable carbohydrates
- Microorganisms in plaque
- Susceptible tooth surface
- Time
What are 2 modifying factors affecting dental caries?
saliva
fluoride
On which island was the Evidence for dietary causes of caries found?
Tristan da Cunha
Which 2 scientists investigated the dietary cause of dental caries at the island of Tristan da Cunha?
Sampson
Barnes
What did Sampson discover In 1932
He examined most of the islanders and found the only 1.82% of them had dental caries
He found that the islanders only had sugar on very rare occasions
What did Barnes discover In 1937?
He repeated the same survey (5 years after Sampson) and found 4.6% of adult teeth now had caries
He found that 10 ships had called into the island in the last 3.5 yrs and that this was an increase to how much they usually got
Name 2 other studies that investigated the dietary cause of dental caries in
- Vipeholm study carried out by Gustaffson in 1954, Sweden
- Hopewood House Study carried out in the mid 1900s in Australia
What was Vipeholm study?
It took place in a mental asylum
The patients were split into 3 groups:
1: Sugar with slight retention tendency (in solution)
2: Sugar in sticky form at meals (specially baked bread)
3: Sugar in sticky form in between meals (toffees)
What results were found from the Vipeholm study?
The controls group and group 1 didn't get many cases of caries Group 2 (the ones having sticky bread and started getting quite a bit of caries over the years In Group 3 (the ones having toffees) the caries rate increased significantly
What was the problem with the Vipeholm study?
It is unethical as the. patients were being experimented on without consent
What was the Hopewood House Study?
Took place in a children’s home where they noticed that the children in this home had a very low rate of caries as they only ate uncooked veg no sugar or flour
What is the prevalence of caries in adults in the uK?
31% of adults have caries
What percentage of the UK population have had at least one filling?
Over 80% of the population have at least one filling
On average each adult has seven fillings
What are the 5 ways caries ca be classified?
- By site (approximal etc)
- By tissue (enamel etc)
- Primary or secondary
4 .Active, inactive or rampant - Cavitated or non-cavitated
