What is tooth decay?
Tooth decay is damage to a tooth's surface, or enamel. It happens when bacteria in your mouth make acids that attack the enamel. Tooth decay can lead to cavities (dental caries), which are holes in your teeth. If tooth decay is not treated, it can cause pain, infection, and even tooth loss.
What causes tooth decay?
Our mouths are full of bacteria. Some bacteria are helpful. But some can be harmful, including the ones that play a role in tooth decay. These bacteria combine with food to form a soft, sticky film called plaque. The bacteria in plaque use the sugar and starch in what you eat and drink to make acids. The acids begin to eat away at the minerals on your enamel. Over time, the plaque can harden into tartar. Besides damaging your teeth, plaque and tartar can also irritate your gums and cause gum disease.
- Tooth Decay (National Library of Medicine)What is tooth decay? Tooth decay is damage to a tooth's surface, or enamel. It happens when bacteria in your mouth make acids that attack the ...
- Nasal Cancer (National Library of Medicine)... keeps your nose from drying out. The nasal cavity is the passageway just behind your nose. Air ... throat as you breathe. Cancer of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses is rare. You are at ...
- Tooth decay is a serious problem for some children. Decay in the upper and lower front teeth are ... sugar that sit in your child's mouth cause tooth decay. Milk, formula, and juice all have sugar in ...
- Dental cavities are holes (or structural damage) in the teeth. ... Tooth decay is a very common disorder. It most often occurs in children and young adults, but it ...
- Child Dental Health (National Library of Medicine)... can do to promote healthy teeth and prevent cavities. For babies, you should clean teeth with a ...
- Tooth Decay/Statistics and Research ... Tooth Decay ... National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research ... From the National Institutes of Health ... Lists resources, ...
- Cavities/Tooth Decay (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)Tooth Decay/Start Here ... Tooth Decay ... Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Head and Neck Cancer/Children ... Head and Neck Cancer ... Oral Cancer/Children ... Oral Cancer ... National Cancer Institute ... Childhood oral cavity cancer (usually lymphoma ...
- Oral Cancer/Diagnosis and Tests ... Oral Cancer ... National Cancer Institute ... Oral cavity and nasopharyngeal cancers screening means looking for cancer before there ...
- Oral Cancer/Specifics ... Oral Cancer ... National Cancer Institute ... Lip and oral cavity cancer treatment can include surgery, radiation therapy, or both, and depends ...
(National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) 