Abstract:
Dental caries is one of the most common childhood
diseases, affecting up to 80% of all individuals at some
stage of their lives. It is a debilitating and painful condition
which impacts on mastication, speech, aesthetics and
psychosocial behaviour. The prevalence of caries in South
African children is around 40% and almost half of this
burden goes untreated. The end results are pain, swelling
and abscess formation, all of which have negative effects
on aspects of the lives of the patients.