Dental caries is defined as what?

• A. A transmissible, infectious disease
• B. A non-transmissible condition
• C. A genetic disorder
• D. A purely nutritional disease

Answer: (A)

Dental caries is a disease of the tooth structure caused by acid-producing bacteria in dental plaque. These bacteria metabolize sugars from the diet to acids that demineralize tooth enamel and dentin, leading to cavitated lesions over time. The reason this is described as transmissible and infectious is that the bacteria responsible for caries can be passed between people, especially through saliva, so infection with cariogenic bacteria can be acquired from others and then, in the right environment, lead to caries. Diet and host factors like saliva flow and fluoride exposure influence how aggressively the disease progresses, but the core idea is that it’s a bacterial infection that can be transmitted, not simply a non-transmissible, genetic, or purely nutritional condition.