Hicks John, Garcia-Godoy Franklin, Flaitz Catherine
Department of Pathology, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Tx 77030-2313, USA.
J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2003 Fall;28(1):47-52. doi: 10.17796/jcpd.28.1.yg6m443046k50u20.
Dental caries is a complex disease process that afflicts a large proportion of the world's population, regardless of gender, age and ethnicity, although it does tend to affect more indivduals with a low socioeconomic status to a greater extent. The process of dental caries is dependent upon biological factors that are present within the saliva and dental plaque. There are many different agents within saliva and plaque that serve to protect the tooth surface against caries development. Salivary flow rate, buffering capacity, antimicrobial activity, microorganism aggregation and clearance from the oral cavity, immune surveillance, and calcium phosphate binding proteins all interact to inhibit or reverse demineralization of exposed tooth surfaces. Cariogenic bacteria levels within the saliva and plaque determine whether caries will occur or not, and the concentration in saliva and plaque are intimately related to the type of carbohydrate ingestion and the frequency of ingestion, as well as the oral hygiene practiced by the individual.
龋齿是一种复杂的疾病过程，困扰着世界上很大一部分人口，无论性别、年龄和种族如何，尽管它确实往往在更大程度上影响社会经济地位较低的个体。龋齿的发生过程取决于唾液和牙菌斑中存在的生物学因素。唾液和牙菌斑中有许多不同的物质可保护牙齿表面免受龋齿发展的影响。唾液流速、缓冲能力、抗菌活性、微生物聚集和从口腔中的清除、免疫监测以及磷酸钙结合蛋白都会相互作用，以抑制或逆转暴露牙齿表面的脱矿质。唾液和牙菌斑中致龋菌的水平决定了龋齿是否会发生，唾液和牙菌斑中的浓度与碳水化合物摄入的类型和频率以及个体的口腔卫生习惯密切相关。
