Journal of Dental Research, Vol 69, 857-860, Copyright © 1990 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
The prevalence and pattern of distribution of root caries in a Scottish medieval population
N. W. Kerr
Department of Dental Surgery, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Scotland.
The prevalence and pattern of distribution of root caries were determined
in a Scottish Medieval population. The principal finding was a lower root
caries prevalence, compared with that of modern times, with respect to
surfaces at risk; this was particularly marked with respect to buccal root
caries. A lower intake of refined sugars and the presence of heavy deposits
of supragingival calculus are suggested as factors that may be responsible
for the observed differences. The common site for the early root caries
lesion was just apical to the enamel-cementum junction. Initially, it
extended laterally in the form of an elliptical erosion; however, the
greater the depth of the lesion, the more circular the outline became.
