caries vs dental caries

caries and dental caries both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
caries	Yes	No	No	No
dental caries	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, caries and dental caries are synonyms defined as:

caries and dental caries: soft decayed area in a tooth; progressive decay can lead to the death of a tooth

Other synonyms of caries include cavity, tooth decay.

caries (noun)	dental caries (noun)
soft decayed area in a tooth; progressive decay can lead to the death of a tooth	soft decayed area in a tooth; progressive decay can lead to the death of a tooth