What Are Cavities (Tooth Decay), And How Are They Formed?
top^ Dental caries (the technical name for the disease that can lead to cavities) is an infectious disease caused by bacteria. Here are some interesting facts about cavities: • It is the most common chronic disease among school-age children (5 times more prevalent than childhood asthma). • Over 51 million school hours are missed each year in the U.S. due to dental related problems! There are good and bad bacteria in the mouth. The bad bacteria are transferred to a child during infancy from parent (usually mother) or caregiver. If the good bacteria colonize on teeth before the bad ones do, then the bad ones have a hard time taking hold on the teeth. That is why some people hardly brush their teeth and eat sweets but never seem to get cavities. If the bad bacteria do colonize your baby’s teeth, then they will remain there for the rest of their life! Some of the major bacterial culprits associated with dental caries are: • streptococcus mutans, • streptococcus sobrinus, • lactobacilli cas
