Causes of Dental decay

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Tooth decay is caused by the bacteria in dental plaque breaking down sugar in the foods and drinks that you eat and drink.

Dental plaque is a sticky film that is constantly forming on your teeth. It contains many bacteria, some of which react with sugar (fermentable carbohydrates) in the foods which we eat and drink to form acid. This acid starts to break down the hard structure of the enamel.

Once the sugary foods have gone from the mouth salts from your saliva act to repair the damaged enamel. This process takes around 40 minutes to complete. Dental decay results as a result of many thousand of these acid attacks when the balance is in favour of the acid breaking down the tooth rather than the saliva repairing it.

It is important to cut down the number of times you have sugary food and drink. As a nation our diet has changed from three square meals a day to 7-20 snacks and this has led to an increase in the number of times the teeth come under acid attack and an increase in decay. It is important to avoid constantly snacking on sugary foods or sipping fizzy drinks.

A very small number of people who do not look after their teeth appear to be immune to dental decay. But most people who do not keep up a good oral hygiene routine will eventually get decay in some or most of their teeth.

If left untreated, plaque will soon harden to form a dense chalky material called calculus which needs to be professionally removed by your dentist or dental hygienist.