What causes tooth decay?

What is it that lives on our teeth, gums, and tongue?
Microbes!
These microbes can be good or bad
and the bad ones can cause tooth decay.
There are many types of bacteria
that cause tooth decay;
these can be Streptococcus mutans,
Streptococcus sobrinus,
and Lactobacillus.
This is not at all exaggerated:
as soon as we eat something,
our bad, tiny microbes
start to initiate a fierce battle in our mouth.
The bacteria use every bit of leftover foods and drinks
that contain sugar or starch
as ingredients to produce acids
that can eat away the tooth's hardest surface,
the enamel.
The wound in the tooth
that we've noticed as the dental cavity
and the surrounding devastating,
sticky, transparent film of microbes
as dental plaque.
Battling the destruction the microbes has brought,
is the minerals in our saliva,
consisting of mainly Calcium and Phosphate.
Together with Flouride from the toothpaste,
water, and other sources,
the saliva remineralises the damaged enamel
after each acid attack.
This battle of scraping minerals away
and cementing it back to enamel
is always happening at any time
for as long as the person is alive.
A constant acid attack, however,
may overburden the ability of saliva
to heal the tooth.
This means that the frequent eating
and drinking of sugar and starch
that we all love,
arms the bacteria to defeat the good guy, saliva.
The rate of recovery of the enamel
will be outrun
by the repeated cycles of acid damage done to it,
hence causing it to lose minerals.
An early sign of decay
may show in the form of a white spot
where the mineral is lacking.
If action is taken at this point,
by supplying enough minerals and Fluoride,
the enamel can still repair itself
and the decay can be stopped
or even reversed.
But if we keep consuming sugar and starch mindlessly,
more minerals will be lost
and the decay process will continue beyond repair.
The enamel will be weakened
and eventually destroyed,
forming a dental cavity.
To save the damaged tooth,
we require the help of a dentist
to fill the hole
with materials such as composite resin.
Tooth decays can be avoided
by eating or drinking less sugar and starches.
Frequent use of fluoride-containing mouthwashes,
gels, toothpaste, and tablets
will also fortify the enamel.
This is why it's important
to brush our teeth twice a day!

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