摘要：Biology is based on evolution; therefore, eu-kariotes like plants, animals and human beings are living in harmony with their procariote an-cestors. If this is obviously the normal way of life, then pathobiology follows the same basic principles. The highly complex harmony of the living world may be disrupted, and a punctuated disease starts which is different from the health equilibrium. To reflect this biological archetype on the main diseases in dentistry - caries and periodontitis - the avalanche model is being proposed based on scientific and clinical evi-dence. This way of argumentation does influ-ence the strategic planning of preventive and curative programmes in dental research as well as in daily practise.
