• DOI:10.1177/0895937409335590
• Corpus ID: 206573422

Remineralization, the Natural Caries Repair Process—The Need for New Approaches

@article{Featherstone2009RemineralizationTN,
  title={Remineralization, the Natural Caries Repair Process—The Need for New Approaches},
  author={J D Featherstone},
  journal={Advances in Dental Research},
  year={2009},
  volume={21},
  pages={4 - 7}
}

• J. Featherstone
• Published 31 July 2009
• Medicine
• Advances in Dental Research

The authors declare no conflict of interest. Remineralization is the natural repair process for caries lesions. We have known about remineralization for at least a hundred years. However, it is only in recent decades that the therapeutic importance of remineralization has been generally accepted. Fluoride delivered topically in various vehicles has produced major reductions in the prevalence and incidence of dental caries. When the bacterial challenge is high or the salivary components are lacking, remineralization is insufficient to halt or reverse the caries process. There is a need to find ways to enhance the remineralization process and to transfer such knowledge into clinical therapy.