The Teeth and Their Environment

Book excerpt: Providing a current overview of how physical, chemical and biochemical aspects of the oral environment influence tooth condition, this publication covers caries, calculus, tooth wear and erosion, and the roles of pellicle, saliva and plaque in inducing and/or moderating these conditions. It highlights topics such as new intra-oral and laboratory methods to assess tooth wear, the latest ideas on de- and re-mineralisation processes involving enamel and dentine, new insights into the tooth structure-function relationship and the site specificity of anticaries treatments. Reviews of pellicle function and of the inverse relationship between caries and calculus complete the volume. This book is recommended to all oral care scientists, laboratory and clinical researchers alike, and to lecturers in dental medicine.