Hello, and welcome to dentalcare.com's Cariology course. It focuses, this time, on the agent. This is part two of a 10 part series entitled Carrie's Process and Prevention Strategies. This course describes the etiology and pathways of progression of dental caries including an in depth review of the role of dental plaque and oral bacteria.
Commonly termed tooth decay, caries is a multi-factorial disease that can be difficult to manage. The processes associated with caries result in the localized destruction of tooth tissues, occurring over time, when certain oral bacteria ferment dietary carbohydrates, generating acid that cause damage to the teeth. The primary oral bacteria responsible for caries is streptococcus mutans.
