Dental caries and other dental diseases

Abstract

Dental caries is an infectious disease resulting in the destruction of enamel and dentine by acids produced by bacteria. Caries are associated with other pathological dental lesions that may promote caries formation (enamel hypoplasia, periodontal disease), or occur subsequent to severe caries (exposure and infection of the pulp chamber, abscess cavity formation, and antemortem tooth loss). Anthropological interest in dental caries and associated dental diseases is motivated by the complex biological and cultural factors that influence their frequency and distribution in human populations. Mode of subsistence, biological and cultural components of sex, and differences in social status all have an impact on the distribution of dental diseases in prehistoric and living human populations.