What Causes Dental Cavities?

Series Summary

Dental cavities are a common ailment characterized by small holes or pits in the tooth. They are caused by acid producing bacteria from carbohydrates such as sugar, fructose and glucose. While there are several ways in which a dentist can fix or restore form and function of a tooth with a cavity, prevention is key. Oral hygiene habits can help prevent tooth decay and cavities by not allowing bacteria to settle on the tooth and create damage. Despite this knowledge, over 90% of people worldwide will at some point have a dental cavity or tooth decay.

In this free video series, our expert will demonstrate how to prevent dental cavities. In learning basic tips and advice on dental health, you will be able to lessen your risk of developing cavities or tooth decay. Our expert will give you easy to follow step-by-step instructions on how to properly brush your teeth, floss, use mouth wash and even how to prevent cavities by avoiding sweets. This is a great video series to share with children, who are often the most at risk for dental cavities, but can be helpful to anyone who experiences problems with dental cavities.

Video Transcript

"Hello, my name is Melissa and on behalf of Expert Village we are going to be talking about how to prevent a cavity and how to save your smile. In this clip we're going to first talk about what causes a cavity. Before we can prevent a cavity we need to know first what causes cavities. And the biggest answer is it's bacteria. Very simple, bacteria is key. Our mouths, our teeth, our toothbrushes. They're all unfortunately full of bacteria. Now there is some good bacteria but it is of course that bad bacteria that does cause cavities. And basically bacteria, what it does is it goes after and devours the food particles that are on our teeth. And bacteria basically produces an acid that is a byproduct of their feasting on food particles on our teeth. And it's the acid which eats into that tooth enamel on all of our teeth. And that is eventually what causes a cavity. So, in order to prevent a cavity of course need to get rid of that bacteria. How do we do that? Well you'll find out in all of our upcoming clips. "