What is dental caries?
Multifactorial, transmissible(by saliva like sharing drinks or kissing), infectious oral disease.
What are primary factors for dental caries development?
- tooth anatomy(presence of deep cavities, pits and fissures, or if its anterior or posterior)
- saliva
- Biofilm pH
- Use of fluoride
- Diet
- Oral hygiene
- Immune system
- Genetics
What are secondary factors for dental caries development?
- Socioeconomic status
- Education
- Life-style
- Environment
- Age
- Ethnicity
- Occupation
- Gender
Critical pH level for enamel
5.5
Critical pH level for dentin
6.2
what are the factors that affect the rate of Demineralization and Remineralization happening
- Number & Type of microbial flora
- Diet
- oral hygiene
- Genetics
- Dental Anatomy
- Use of Fluorides and other chemotherapeutic agents
- salivary flow and buffering capability/capacity
- the inherent resistance of tooth structure and composition
What are pathogenic factors(those that support demineralization)
- Acid producing bacteria
- Sub normal saliva
- Frequent drinking and eating fermentable carbs
- poor hygiene
What are protective factors(those that support remineralization)
- normal saliva
- calcium, fluoride and phosphate
- good hygiene
- antibacterial usage(fluoride ,chlorhexidine, xylitol)
definition of dental plaque
the soft, tenacious(hold tight) film accumulating on the surface of teeth.
What is crucial for microorganisms' survival in the oral environment? why?
Ability to adhere to a surface., because those who can't adhere to the surface are washed by saliva
Whats the most common microorganism in the biofilm
bacteria
where do the biofilm accumulate
- teeth surface
- mucosa
Which bacteria dominate the biofilm community on teeth?
Streptococcus sanguis and Streptococcus mitis.
what is The population size of mutans streptococci (MS) on teeth
generally not that much but sometimes they can make 50% of facultative anaerobes