Epidemiology of Caries course for Dental Practice



This session will introduce you to the basics of epidemiology, specifically the studies of the change of prevalence and incidence of dental caries.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:
- Identify the terminology of epidemiological studies
- Explain the various ways in which epidemiology data is used
- Outline the changing patterns of dental caries within the population
- Summarise the limitations of the NHS dental epidemiological surveys
In this session we will cover the epidemiology of caries.
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution of diseases within populations and between time periods. You can undertake epidemiological studies of caries between rich and poor countries or look at the trend of disease over, for example, five year intervals.
Before commencing this session you should:
- Have a basic knowledge of tooth anatomy
- Be familiar with the basics of the carious process including its initiation in enamel and its progression to cavitation
Iain is a Senior Lecturer and Honorary SpR in Dental Public Health. He joined the School of Dentistry at the University of Manchester in 2002 as a clinical teacher and then spent a year as a Research Fellow at the Dental Health Unit. His research interests lie in the assessment of diagnostic methodologies in dentistry and the current focus of this work is early caries detection. Iain has attracted over £1 million in research funding for these projects. The diagnostic team is currently examining the following aspects of oral diagnosis:
• Caries: assessment of optical and electronic methods of early caries detection
• Gingivitis: examining the possibility of using laser doppler, thermal imaging and 3D laser scanning to assess gingival inflammation and assess novel means of objectively measuring this condition
• Fluorosis: using fluorescent imaging to develop more objective and quantative measures of enamel fluorosis; this is a key target of the MRC and Department of Health
Iain also have a keen interest in forensic dentistry and currently there is one student undertaking a PhD in this discipline.
Iain is a Department of Health (NIHR) Clinician Scientist and, as such, much of his time is spent delivering a series of research projects concerning water fluoridation. He is also the School of Dentistry’s Postgraduate Director.


Iain is a Senior Lecturer and Honorary SpR in Dental Public Health. He joined the School of Dentistry at the University of Manchester in 2002 as a clinical teacher and then spent a year as a Research Fellow at the Dental Health Unit. His research interests lie in the assessment of diagnostic methodologies in dentistry and the current focus of this work is early caries detection. Iain has attracted over £1 million in research funding for these projects. The diagnostic team is currently examining the following aspects of oral diagnosis:
• Caries: assessment of optical and electronic methods of early caries detection
• Gingivitis: examining the possibility of using laser doppler, thermal imaging and 3D laser scanning to assess gingival inflammation and assess novel means of objectively measuring this condition
• Fluorosis: using fluorescent imaging to develop more objective and quantative measures of enamel fluorosis; this is a key target of the MRC and Department of Health
Iain also have a keen interest in forensic dentistry and currently there is one student undertaking a PhD in this discipline.
Iain is a Department of Health (NIHR) Clinician Scientist and, as such, much of his time is spent delivering a series of research projects concerning water fluoridation. He is also the School of Dentistry’s Postgraduate Director.
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