Introduction

Abstract

A pain-free, functioning, and good-looking dentition for a lifetime seems a reasonable goal! Is this what dentists do? An advertisement for a North American dental practice recently suggested that dentists practising general dentistry provide amalgam and composite fillings, sealants, cosmetic dentistry, pulp and root canal treatment, crown and bridges, dentures, and dental implants. Moreover, they do minor oral surgery, gum disease treatment, and occasionally temporomandibular joint (TMJ) therapy, tobacco cessation, and nutrition counselling. The topics listed in the first sentence comprise the daily work in general dentistry, but do you realize that 85% of these are a direct consequence of dental caries? Yet dental caries is not mentioned as the main reason for most dental treatments. Restorative treatment is the focus of dentistry. The disease dental caries is the only disease which has been combatted with metals and composites for more than a century. Some 50 years ago the concept of prevention became fashionable. Now restorative treatment was described as ‘secondary prophylaxis’ because it was considered that once the inevitable dental caries had occurred, it had to be treated (i.e. restored) to prevent further break down of the teeth and the dentition. Therefore, it is not surprising that the most time in the dental curriculum is devoted to the many skilled restorative procedures. These have to be conducted in a moist, slippery, small, and moving oral cavity attached to a person who may find the procedure unpleasant! No wonder it is difficult to perform intra-oral restorative work of high quality as part of oral rehabilitation, and no wonder so much time in the curriculum is devoted to these aspects. However, supposing it was possible to prevent or control the disease so that restorations are reduced to a minimum? This control of caries is what this book is about! Seven chapters present the essentials of what is known about dental caries. The observations will be based on current scientific evidence. This is a hands-on book, which means that what is suggested and observed should have immediate implications for how patients may be treated.