Systematic Description of Early Enamel Caries and Demonstration of Mechanism

¹ Department of Biochemistry and the W. G. Zoller Memorial Dental Clinic, University of Chicago

The systematic microscopic examination of some 500 examples of early caries of the enamel indicated that the features of the vast majority of early carious lesions were identical with those of early smooth-surface caries, modified in some lesions by the surface configuration of the enamel and in others by impregnation with pigment. This observation, considered in conjunction with others, rigorously demonstrated the essential biochemical mechanism of the early carious process. Other findings were reported.