A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Virulence of Oral Flora

Two major oral diseases, dental caries and periodontitis, occur at different rates among countries (Petersen, 2003). Dental caries is most widespread in several Asian and Latin American countries but is less common in most African countries. Although developed countries have shown a marked decrease in the prevalence of dental caries in children over the past decades, dental caries is still a major oral health problem in most industrialized countries, affecting 60–90% of schoolchildren and most adults. It is rare to find a person from a developed country who has not experienced dental caries. It is the most common chronic disease affecting children, including those in the United States, and is five times more common than the second most prevalent chronic disease, asthma (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009). Periodontal diseases are also highly prevalent and affect up to 90% of the world’s population. Most abstract