Caries Process and Prevention Strategies: The Agent
Learning Objectives

Upon the completion of this course, the dental professional should be able to:

• Define dental caries.
• Discuss the medical history of caries along with its natural history.
• Identify the combination of factors required for caries to develop, and how sub-factors influence this process.
• Define dental plaque as a microbial biofilm.
• Describe the development and maturation of dental plaque.
• Understand the microbial diversity of plaque and recognize it as an ecosystem.
• Discuss the ecological plaque hypothesis.
• Name the bacteria associated with caries.
• Discuss how the acidity in the oral environment is the major determinant of plaque ecology.
• Identify how bacteria convert dietary carbohydrates to acids.