What is tooth decay, anyway?
Simply put, it’s cavities.
How are cavities created? By the bacteria in your mouth…everyone has bacteria in their mouth to some degree. As icky as that may sound, it’s true. And if your mouth is not regularly cleaned, those bacteria go to work making plaque. Then the plaque gets together with sugars and starches that you eat, and together they conjure up acid.
This acid brew, if left to loiter in your mouth, begins to eat away at your tooth enamel. The enamel is your teeth’s armor against decay. If that armor is destroyed the acid is free to create cavities in your vulnerable, unprotected teeth.