If you would like to see more about general dental diseases, damage and abnormalities than you find here, with references to the literature, you may explore the CDC site.
This section covers many of the things that can go wrong with the teeth and mouth, and there are plenty! Not many will kill you, but the amount of discomfort summed over a lifetime can produce a prodigious total.
We’ll look at everything from simple decay to disorders that can exact a considerable toll on the personality. It is also important to consider effects in the mouth that are produced by and show evidence of systemic disorders such as AIDS, and drugs (prescription or otherwise).
Later we will discuss (Section IV) how we collect information from your mouth that relate to particular problems – so that appropriate treatments may be decided. And then we will look at the various treatment possibilities, for each malady.
Organization of this Section
Chapter III.1 – Infection: Decay
Chapter III.2 – Infection: Gum Disease
Chapter III.3 – Infection – into the Pulp
Chapter III.4 – Grinding Teeth
Chapter III.5 – Toothbrush Abrasion or Abfractions?
Chapter III.6 – TMJ Disorders and Orofacial Pain
Chapter III.7 – Crooked Teeth
Chapter III.8 – Esthetic Deviations
Chapter III.9 – Missing Teeth
Chapter III.10 – Lesions of the Bone and Soft Tissues