Editing Tooth decay (section)

===Enamel===
Tooth enamel is a highly mineralized acellular tissue, and caries act upon it through a chemical process brought on by the acidic environment produced by bacteria. As the bacteria consume the sugar and use it for their own energy, they produce lactic acid. The effects of this process include the demineralization of crystals in the enamel, caused by acids, over time until the bacteria physically penetrate the dentin. [[Enamel rod]]s, which are the basic unit of the enamel structure, run perpendicularly from the surface of the tooth to the dentin. Since demineralization of enamel by caries follows the direction of the enamel rods, the different triangular patterns between pit and fissure and smooth-surface caries develop in the enamel because the orientation of enamel rods are different in the two areas of the tooth.<ref name="kidd">{{cite journal |vauthors=Kidd EA, Fejerskov O |title=What constitutes dental caries? Histopathology of carious enamel and dentin related to the action of cariogenic biofilms |journal=Journal of Dental Research|volume=83 Spec No C |pages=C35–8 |year=2004 |pmid=15286119 |doi=10.1177/154405910408301S07|s2cid=12240610 }}</ref>
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As the enamel loses minerals, <!--- Is this an acceptable way to put it? ---> and dental caries progresses, the enamel develops several distinct zones, visible under a light microscope. From the deepest layer of the enamel to the enamel surface, the identified areas are the: translucent zone, dark zones, body of the lesion, and surface zone.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Darling AI |title=Resistance of the enamel to dental caries |journal=Journal of Dental Research|volume=42 |issue=1 Pt2 |pages=488–96 |year=1963 |pmid=14041429 |doi=10.1177/00220345630420015601|s2cid=71450112 }}</ref> The translucent zone is the first visible sign of caries and coincides with a one to two percent loss of minerals.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Robinson C, Shore RC, Brookes SJ, Strafford S, Wood SR, Kirkham J |title=The chemistry of enamel caries |journal=Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine|volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=481–95 |year=2000 |pmid=11132767 |doi=10.1177/10454411000110040601}}</ref> A slight remineralization of enamel occurs in the dark zone, which serves as an example of how the development of dental caries is an active process with alternating changes.<ref>[[#Nanci|Nanci]], p. 121</ref> The area of greatest demineralization and destruction is in the body of the lesion itself. The surface zone remains relatively mineralized and is present until the loss of tooth structure results in a cavitation.