In recent years numerous reports concerning the etiology and epidemiology of developmental defects in enamel have been published. This is because certain types of these lesions have important clinical implications, bringing about esthetic and functional problems, as well as decreasing the resistance of hard dental tissues to dental caries. The issue of the effects of enamel defects on the risk of dental caries has been also widely discussed. Some abnormalities, such as molar‑incisor hypomineralization or enamel hypoplasia, are thought to increase the risk of caries, while mild fluorosis is associated with lower dental caries susceptibility. In the paper, on the basis of the available literature, various groups of enamel defects and their association with dental caries are described.

Key words: developmental defects of enamel, hypomineralization, hypoplasia, dental caries.