Associate Professor Yoichi Ishizuka from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Tokyo Dental College, is giving a lecture on the prevalence of dental caries in Japan
The prevalence of dental caries has been clearly reduced in almost all age groups during the last 50 years. However, it still constitutes the internationally most commonly found disease affecting more than 3 billion people. It is true that dental caries has decreased in Japan, but its prevalence remains significantly higher than other diseases. The etiology of dental caries is considered to be of multifactorial origin where the host, oral bacteria and diet play a key role. These variables are influenced by a large number of surrounding biological and socioeconomical subfactors.
The caries disease has lately been explained as the consequence of an imbalance of the oral environment, which in turn may result in an ecological shift favouring the growth of disease-related microorganisms, what usually is referred to as the “ecological plaque hypothesis”. Today a large number of caries preventive strategies are used in order to combat the caries disease. Among these, fluoride application is a method whose effectiveness in caries prevention has been clearly established, supported by more than half a century of research. In Japan, where systemic fluoride application is not practiced, three types of topical fluoride application (fluoride toothpaste, fluoride mouthrinse, and professional topical fluoride application) play an important role in caries prevention. In this lecture, Japanese fluoride products for caries prevention and the differences in fluoride applications between Sweden and Japan will be presented.
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