caries lesion, the most commonly observed sign of dental caries
disease, is the cumulative result of an imbalance in the dynamic
demineralization and remineralization process that causes a net mineral
loss over time. A classification system to categorize the location, site
of origin, extent, and when possible, activity level of caries lesions
consistently over time is necessary to determine which clinical
treatments and therapeutic interventions are appropriate to control and
treat these lesions.
2008, the American Dental Association (ADA) convened a group of experts
to develop an easy-to-implement caries classification system. The ADA
Council on Scientific Affairs subsequently compiled information from
these discussions to create the ADA Caries Classification System (CCS)
presented in this article.
ADA CCS offers clinicians the capability to capture the spectrum of
caries disease presentations ranging from clinically unaffected (sound)
tooth structure to noncavitated initial lesions to extensively cavitated
advanced lesions. The ADA CCS supports a broad range of clinical
management options necessary to treat both noncavitated and cavitated
ADA CCS is available for implementation in clinical practice to
evaluate its usability, reliability, and validity. Feedback from
clinical practitioners and researchers will allow system improvement.
Use of the ADA CCS will offer standardized data that can be used to
improve the scientific rationale for the treatment of all stages of