This family has several functions relevant to dental caries, including tooth formation, where multiple carbonic anhydrases are produced by maturation-stage ameloblasts27, salivary buffering, where defects in CA12 lead to poor salivary function and xerostomia28; and regulation of tooth biofilm microbiota, where CA6 may affect colonisation by the cariogenic microorganism Streptococcus mutans29. Here, CA6 is linked to dental caries.