Abstract
The gums cover the roots of teeth in younger humans but recede in older people beginning with the fifth decade. Dental enamel covers the tooth to the gum margin but when the gums recede the roots are exposed, subjecting the exposed root surface to abrasion and decay. The root surface is softer than dental enamel and so structured that it is more susceptible to bacterial infection (Wefel et al. 1985). Root caries is more prevalent in the aging population whereas coronal caries is observed in younger people. Conventional methods for exploring dental enamel using a sharp probe may damage the softer root surface.
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References
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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Lees, S., Nelligan, T.J., Doherty, R. (1991). Detection of Root Caries. In: Lee, H., Wade, G. (eds) Acoustical Imaging. Acoustical Imaging, vol 18. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3692-5_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3692-5_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6641-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-3692-5
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