Dental caries is an ancient disease dating far into prehistory. The beginning of rice cultivation in South Asia believed to have caused an increase in caries. A Sumerian text from 5000 BC describes a “tooth worm” as the cause of caries. Evidence of this belief has also been found in India, Egypt, Japan, and China. The rate of caries remained low through the Bronze and Iron ages, but sharply increased during the medieval age. Treatment consisted mainly of herbal remedies and charms, but sometimes also included bloodletting. By the Enlightenment, the belief that a “tooth worm” caused caries was no longer accepted in the medical community. Pierre Fauchard, known as the father of modern dentistry, was one of the first to reject the idea worms caused tooth decay. In the 1890s, W.D. Miller conducted a series of studies that led him to propose an explanation for dental caries.He found that bacteria inhabited the mouth produced acids which dissolved tooth structures in the presence of fermentable carbohydrates. This is known as the chemo parasitic caries theory. Miller’s contribution, along with the research on plaque by G.V. Black and J.L. Williams, served as the foundation for the current explanation of the etiology of caries.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_caries
