Microbiology in decay: A field needing filling

Abstract

?Nothing could be more unfortunate than to divorce dental research in any way from the rest of scientific and, particularly, medical, research. The solution of the problems relating to dental disease demands more fundamental knowledge than is at present available. The organisation of this knowledge calls for investigations in which ?bacteriologists must participate.? This quotation comes from what was commonly called the Treviot Committee?s report of 1946. To put the Treviot report into perspective, it was not until 10 years later that Orland showed that dental caries was an infectious disease and not until 1960 that Keyes showed the cariogenic and transmissible nature of streptococci. Nearly sixty years have now passed since this report and it is clear that microbiologists have made a major contribution to the study of oral diseases and, in the process, have influenced general scientific exploration in many other areas of microbiology and immunology.