In 1884 Miller became professor of dentistry at the University of Berlin, the first foreigner ever to receive a professorial appointment at a German University. Inspired by study of bacteriology under Robert Koch, Miller argued that “carbohydrates trapped around the teeth were fermented by bacterial components of the normal oral flora and the resulting acids decalcified the tooth enamel; other bacteria then entered the tooth through the initial defect and destroyed the underlying dentine” (Ring). His book first appeared in a German edition in 1889. Reprint of English edition, Basel, Karger, 1973