The prevalence and pattern of distribution of root caries in a Scottish medieval population.

The prevalence and pattern of distribution of root caries were determined in a Scottish Medieval population. The principal finding was a lower root caries prevalence, compared with that of modern times, with respect to surfaces at risk; this was particularly marked with respect to buccal root caries. A lower intake of refined sugars and the presence of heavy deposits of supragingival calculus are suggested as factors that may be responsible for the observed differences. The common site for the early root caries lesion was just apical to the enamel-cementum junction. Initially, it extended laterally in the form of an elliptical erosion; however, the greater the depth of the lesion, the more circular the outline became.