D o W e N eed to be C oncerned about D ental C aries in the C oming M illennium ?

作者：William H. Bowen · 发表于：Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine · 年份：2002 · DOI：10.1177/154411130201300203 · 被引用次数：235 · 研究领域：Microbial Metabolites in Food Biotechnology、Transgenic Plants and Applications、Enzyme Production and Characterization

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.