What is caries?

Dental caries (from the Latin caries, decay or rot, and the medical Latin caries dentium, tooth decay) is a disease of the hard tissues of the tooth (enamel and dentine)

In caries, the metabolic products of the bacteria damage the enamel

First this leads to decalcification, recognisable as white spots. These light patches – which later turn brownish as colour pigments from food are deposited in them – are the first signs of beginning caries, and go on to develop into dark or black spots. Untreated, the loss of the tooth threatens here too. Early treatment by the dentist (remineralisation and fluoridation) can still halt the course of the disease as long as the outermost layer of enamel is intact. If the defect is deeper, that is, if the caries has already reached the dentine, the only remedy is the removal of the carious areas at the dental practice. Since dentine is softer than enamel, caries can spread more quickly in it. Frequent consequences of dental caries are inflammation of the pulp and periodontitis