Dental Caries?

[Spektyr]

I was looking up stuff on Wikipedia, trying to learn a bit about dental implants, and I came across something called "dental caries" that had a link so I checked it out.

There was a picture of a tooth there that looked pretty similar to several of the ones I used to have, so I was curious. Obviously not something a doctor could diagnose on the Internet, and with the teeth gone and probably destroyed (hopefully), there isn't much chance of a real diagnosis.

So basically what I'm asking is if someone can explain better what dental caries is, and how likely it is that I might have had it. I'm not trying to be one of those people that reads about a disease and then immediately thinks they've got it. I'm just curious, and I'll freely admit that part of the reason I am is that it'd be nice to have somewhere to point the finger so that it's not my fault my teeth were so bad. (It's not, there's other problems as well that weren't in my control, but it was my inattention that let them take hold so fast.)

 

[Zzzdentist]

Dental caries is just another name for cavities, decay, etc just like dental calculus is another name for tartar, buildup, etc.

 

[Spektyr]

You doctors and yer highfalutin names...

 

[mikey]

I learned something today!! woot

 

[Zzzdentist]

Yeah tell me about it. It's worse when you have to learn all the jargon! Ever hear of Pyorrhea? It's another word for periodontitis or gum disease. Halitosis is bad breath. The list goes on and on...