Dental Caries: Mechanism and Present Control Technics as Evaluated at the University of Michigan Workshop

This book is a comprehensive report of a conference of nineteen lecturers and one hundred and fourteen other research leaders primarily interested in dental caries. The conference was sponsored in September 1947 by the Schools of PublicHealth and Dentistry at the University of Michigan. Six evaluating committees appraised all available information with the following conclusions:

Caries is a disease of the teeth caused by acids resulting from the action of micro-organisms on carbohydrates decalcifying the inorganic portion followed by disintegration of the organic substance of the tooth. Caries is made possible by (1) a plaque which is an organic nitrogenous mass containing multitudes of micro-organisms firmly adhering to the teeth; (2) anatomic characteristics; (3) position and arrangement of the teeth and (4) dental appliances. Lactobacilli are the only micro-organisms showing significant increase in caries. Lactic acid is always present in a caries