years, fortunately, giving the dental professional and the patient time to act. In the clinically nonvisible stages we can adopt a risk-related approach to intervene noninvasively; in the early visible stages of the disease, we can intervene noninvasively or microinvasively. Later stages of the disease need invasive intervention that aims to preserve the tooth as much as possible.
Where We Come From…
Numerous individuals or groups of scientists have contributed to our understanding of caries over time. In the following we have selected a few of the many contributors and taken the liberty to sketch their faces and make a small note about their contribution. We have not included those who are still among us. The figure captions will give the reader a good idea of the history and development of cariology including adhesive dentistry.
Do We Need Another Book about Cariology?
Nowadays the dental professional has to face an overwhelming amount of information concerning dental caries and its clinical management, which is derived from various “traditional” sources such as pre- and postgraduate courses at dental schools and from continuing educational programs. In addition, the Internet updates current knowledge not only for dental professionals, but also for their patients. As with everything else, when a variety of goods is on offer, the choice becomes more difficult!
From a researcher's perspective this also holds true for the increasing variety of scientific journals that provide us with evidence on related issues for dental caries and allied topics such as tooth wear. Thus, the choice and assessment of scientific information are becoming more difficult compared with former years, although this process has been formalized and professionalized in the form of evidence-based dentistry. Here, systematic reviews or even meta-analyses about a certain topic should help to inform the professional, being based on relevant science. Nonetheless, this systematic approach is not always feasible, either because there is not much clinical evidence available or the subject matter is quite complex. For the dental practitioner systematic reviews might even be too impracticable to provide clinical guidance in the daily grind.
In this area of conflict a textbook may be of help. Although, it cannot and need not be as objective as a scientific paper, the format of a book is capable of summing up the most relevant points in a readable manner, and is thus still an important tool in teaching. This is what we have aimed for, together with over 20 other authors from more than 10 countries, who are all experts in their respective fields of cariology.
Proposal to Read the Book
The target groups for this book are those studying or working within dentistry: dental hygienists, dental students, graduates, and dentists whether working in the public dental service or in private practice. Dental assistants who would have their working arena extended within the field of cariology may also benefit from reading parts of this book.
The book is divided into two parts: science and clinical practice. The science part is divided into five main subparts. Starting from oral ecology merging to etiology and (clinical) pathogenesis of caries and noncarious defects, the first subpart (Chapters 1–4) is rounded off by a more philosophical approach on how caries can be seen from a “modelling aspect.” The second subpart (Chapters 5–9) is about clinical and radiographic detection of caries and assessment at the tooth surface level, as well as taking into account the individual level, meaning caries risk assessment. After a brief introduction to epidemiological matters on the topics of the book, the second subpart concludes with a proposal of how to transfer the knowledge about the caries process and its clinical assessment into clinical action. The noninvasive strategies (biofilm, diet, and mineralization modification) of how to deal with the caries process are described in the third subpart (Chapters 10–13) and possible ways of implementation in individualized and community-based dentistry are presented. The fourth subpart (Chapters 14–19) of the scientific section deals with microinvasive and minimally invasive caries treatment. This includes adhesion technology, sealing and infiltration, caries removal, and toothcoloured direct restorations. The fifth subpart (Chapters 20–22) focuses on decision-making in treating caries in general as well as on special aspects of the presented concept in children. The scientific part concludes with some thoughts on future aspects in cariology.
A. Van Leeuwenhoek, Holland
As far back as the 1650s Van Leeuwenhoek observed small animals in dental plaque, by using simple microscopes which he had made himself.
P. Fauchard, France
Around 1710, Fauchard asserted that sugarderived acids like tartaric acid were responsible for dental decay. He also introduced dental fillings as treatment for dental caries.
W.D. Miller, USA
In the 1870s Miller observed that a multitude of microorganisms could produce acid. He suggested the chemoparasitic caries theory, which is still valid today.
G.V. Black, USA
From the 1860s onward Black organized, among other things, Black's classification system for caries lesions (Class I, II, III, VI, V) and principles of tooth preparations for fillings.
F.S. McKay, USA
In the 1930s McKay described the phenomenon of Colorado stained teeth, which later became synonymous with dental fluorosis.
H.T. Dean, USA
In the 1930s and 40s Dean observed an inverse relationship between dental fluorosis and dental caries.
H. Klein, USA
In the late 1930s, Klein and co-workers introduced the DMF index for recording caries in the United States, where D corresponds to decayed teeth/surfaces, M to missing teeth/surfaces due to caries, and F to filled teeth/surfaces due to caries.
B. Krasse, Sweden
In the 1950s, Krasse and co-workers showed that the caries increment in mentally handicapped people (Vipeholm caries study) increased if sugar was consumed between meals in a form that was retained in the
