Dental caries is still the most prevalent human disease in the world. Tooth decay or dental caries is the disease caused by microorganisms. Everyone's mouth is inhabited by bacteria. In fact a single human mouth can contain more microorganisms than there are people on planet Earth.

The bacteria that are capable of causing cavities (mutans streptococci and lactobacilli) consume sugars as food (glucose, sucrose, fructose, lactose). The waste products these bacteria create from having consumed these sugars are the acids (especially lactic acid) which cause a tooth's demineralization (tooth decay formation).

As we all carry bacteria in our mouths, everyone is at risk for cavities. Those with a diet high in carbohydrates and sugary foods and those who live in communities without fluoridated water are likely candidates for cavities. Children and senior citizens are the two groups at highest risk for cavities.

The best way to prevent caries is to brush and floss regularly and follow the following steps:

Cavities don't form all at once, and actually it typically takes several months or years for them to develop.

Cut down on sweets and between-meal snacks.

Brush after every meal and floss daily.

See your dentist at least every six months for checkups and professional cleanings. Because cavities can be difficult to detect a thorough dental examination is very important. teeth.

Facts about tooth decay

1. If there were no fermentable sugars in your diet, you would never get a single cavity.

2. Almost everyone who is prone to caries has a specific habit in which sugar soaks the teeth many, many times a day. These sugar habits account for perhaps 95% of all caries! If you can identify the habit, and substitute a diet, or non sugared food in its place, the decay simply stops where it is.

3. Brushing your teeth does help prevent dental caries. In order for the sugar to damage the teeth, the bacteria that live in plaque must digest it to produce a dilute acid which is the agent that does the real damage to the teeth. These germs live in your mouth and double their number about every 20 minutes. By brushing your teeth, you are reducing their number, and hence the amount of acid produced. This in turn reduces the rate of decay. Unfortunately, even if your oral hygiene is very good, millions of germs remain behind, and continue to reproduce throughout the day leaving plenty of them around to turn the multiple swigs of sugar into acid. In the presence of reasonable oral hygiene, multiple exposures of the teeth to sugar still produces decay, but much more slowly than if the teeth are not kept clean.

4. This does not mean that sugar is evil and that you must make a choice between eating sweet foods and keeping your teeth. Sugar at normal mealtimes does almost no damage whatsoever because the exposure to the sugar is not prolonged and the other foods you are eating at the same time tend to wash the sugar off the teeth. Fresh fruit is rarely a problem even though it contains natural sugars because of the detersive (washing) effect of the fruit fibers.
   
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