Ultrastruttura dei tessuti dentari affetti da carie iniziale in un campione di bambini in età scolare

Aim of the work. The purpose of this work is twofold: to describe the epidemiological investigation on food habits and oral hygiene of a sample of children and to show images of ultrastructural hard dental tissue modifications during the acid demineralization process and the carious one. The study aim at evaluating the correlation between an incorrect diet and an inadequate dental hygiene, and the consequent clinical and therapeutical implications. Materials and methods. The epidemiological study, carried out on a sample of children, was supported by the use of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to better observe the effects that an incorrect diet has on hard dental tissues. Results. The microscopic scansion observation of hard dental tissues is objectively the best way to detect even the slightest and sub-clinical morphological alterations. Conclusions. The alterations of hard dental tissues found were the result of acid dissolution due to the activity of the demineralization of food containing a high cariogenic power and to the incorrect oral hygiene habits, which were very common in the sample of children studied.