What is Dental caries?

What is Dental caries?

• Dental caries: A destructive process causing decalcification of the tooth enamel leading to cavitation of the tooth.
• Dental caries: Localized destruction of the tooth surface initiated by decalcification of the enamel followed by enzymatic lysis of organic structures and leading to cavity formation. If left unchecked, the cavity may penetrate the enamel and dentin and reach the pulp. The three most prominent theories used to explain the etiology of the disease are that acids produced by bacteria lead to decalcification; that micro-organisms destroy the enamel protein; or that keratolytic micro-organisms produce chelates that lead to decalcification.
  Source - Diseases Database
• Dental caries: soft decayed area in a tooth; progressive decay can lead to the death of a tooth.
  Source - WordNet 2.1

Dental caries: Introduction

Types of Dental caries:

Broader types of Dental caries:

• Dental conditions
• more types...»

How many people get Dental caries?

Incidence (annual) of Dental caries: 2,534,161 annual cases in Victoria 1996 (DHS-VIC)
Incidence Rate of Dental caries: approx 1 in 2 or 55.57% or 151.2 million people in USA [about data]

How serious is Dental caries?

Complications of Dental caries: see complications of Dental caries

What causes Dental caries?

Causes of Dental caries: see causes of Dental caries
Risk factors for Dental caries: see risk factors for Dental caries

What are the symptoms of Dental caries?

Symptoms of Dental caries: see symptoms of Dental caries

Complications of Dental caries: see complications of Dental caries

Dental caries: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Dental caries.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Dental caries.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Dental caries: see treatments for Dental caries
Prevention of Dental caries: see prevention of Dental caries
Research for Dental caries: see research for Dental caries

Society issues for Dental caries

Hospitalization statistics for Dental caries: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Dental caries:

• 0.46% (59,013) of hospital consultant episodes were for dental caries in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 100% of hospital consultant episodes for dental caries required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 50% of hospital consultant episodes for dental caries were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 50% of hospital consultant episodes for dental caries were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 1% of hospital consultant episodes for dental caries required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 1.2 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for dental caries in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 1 days was the median length of stay in hospitals for dental caries in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• more statistics...»

Organs Affected by Dental caries:

Organs and body systems related to Dental caries include:

• Teeth
• Dental

Name and Aliases of Dental caries

Main name of condition: Dental caries

Tooth decay, fillings

Tooth decay Source - Diseases Database

Cavity, Caries, Tooth decay
Source - WordNet 2.1

Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Dental caries:

• Tooth decay
• Fissure caries
• Smooth surface caries
• Baby bottle caries
• Xerostomia
• Ludwig's angina
• Cavernous sinus thrombosis

 » Next page: Online Medical Textbooks for Dental caries

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