BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS FOR CARIES DETECTION AND MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Dental caries is a global disease that affects approximately 70% of schoolchildren in various countries, and close to 100% of the adult population has experienced caries. Carious dentine lesions have been treated traditionally by using the principles based on ‘extension for prevention’. This principle statement within the field of operative dentistry has been the standard and safest option that many dentists worldwide use for the treatment of carious lesions. However, in more recent years, these globally accepted principles have been challenged by the developments of adhesive restorative materials, the developments in minimally invasive cavity design and a better understanding of carious lesions. Additionally, the traditional approach is now considered to be too destructive and harmful as a method for caries removal. The overarching aim of this thesis was to characterise carious dentine lesions chemically to delineate healthy and infected / affected carious tissues biochemically, as this is an unmet clinical / laboratorial need to innovate, develop and evaluate new minimally invasive operative technologies and biomaterial applications.