Biological And Social Factors That Influence Dental Caries-A Review

Abstract Dental caries is one of the most widespread diseases globally. Despite being highly preventable, its prevalence has significantly increased over the past 30 years. It is a complex condition arising from disruptions in the microbial balance of the dental biofilm, influenced by factors such as saliva flow and composition, fluoride exposure, dietary sugar consumption, and oral hygiene habits. Biological and social factors, such as sex, age, the oral microbiome, genetic predisposition, socioeconomic status, and diet further influence the progression and severity of dental caries. Electronic databases such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were used to extract articles for the review. The keywords used included dental caries, socioeconomic status and caries, age and caries, gender and caries, diet and caries, oral microbiome and caries, and fluoride and caries. Relevant articles were selected. This review examines these factors and their influence on the development and management of dental caries. Keywords Dental caries, fluoride, microbiome, age, diet