Taking care of caries

The Adult Dental Health Survey 2009 indicated that 31 per cent of adults in England, Northern Ireland and Wales had obvious tooth decay in either the crowns or roots of their teeth, and 66 per cent had visible plaque; and this despite the fact that three out of four dentate adults were brushing their teeth at least twice a day.

Caries susceptibility

How is it then, that if 75 per cent of adults are brushing their teeth at least twice-daily, caries is still a problem?

The Adult Dental Health Survey provides one avenue of enquiry, in that: “There are social variations in dental decay with adults from routine and manual occupation households being more likely to have decay than those from managerial and professional occupational households (37 per cent compared with 26 per cent).” According to Selwitz et al (2007), all of the following contribute to a higher risk of caries: “…high numbers of cariogenic bacteria, inadequate salivary flow, insufficient fluoride exposure, poor oral hygiene, inappropriate methods of feeding infants, and poverty.”