If you never ate any food and brushed your teeth twice a day, the decay process would never get started. But the minute you put food in your mouth, the sequence begins.
In a clean mouth, the pellicle, a microscopically thin, clear coating on the teeth formed by certain proteins in the saliva, starts forming immediately after brushing. Soon after, microorganisms attach themselves to the pellicle and begin to form plaque on the teeth.
At this point, mouth tissues and plaque have a pH of about 6.2 to 7.0. pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity on a scale of 1 to 14. A pH of 7 indicates a substance is totally neutral, neither acid nor alkaline. Lower numbers on the scale indicate a substance has more acid and higher numbers mean the substance is more alkaline. At a normal pH of 6.2 to 7.0, the mouth is close to neutral and no damage is being done to the teeth. If the pH drops below 5.5, the enamel that covers the portion of the tooth above the gums starts to de-mineralize, which means it loses some of the minerals in its structure and begins to break down. Between a pH of 5.5 and 6.0, the acid can begin to destroy the roots of the teeth under the gum line.
So how do our mouths become acidic? That’s where the sugar connection comes in. And it’s not just candy and ice cream we’re talking about. All carbohydrate foods, as they are digested, eventually are broken down into simple sugars: glucose, fructose, maltose and lactose. Some of this digestion begins in the mouth with digestive enzymes in saliva. Foods that break down into simple sugars in the mouth are called fermentable carbohydrates. These include the obvious sugary foods, such as cookies, cakes, soft drinks and candy; but also bread, crackers, bananas, potato chips and breakfast cereals.
The process of digestion begins in the mouth. The sugars created by that process are used by the bacteria, which form acids as a byproduct. These acids cause the mouth’s pH to drop and begin to dissolve the mineral crystals inside the teeth.
The longer the pH remains lower than 5.5, the more acid damage will be done. Therefore, carbohydrate foods that tend get stuck to teeth tend to do more acid damage. Teeth with a lot of nooks and crannies, such as molars, are more likely to trap food and are therefore more susceptible to caries. Plus, every time you eat a fermentable carbohydrate, the pH of your mouth remains below 5.5 for up to several hours, depending on the quality of your saliva. People who sip soft drinks or sweetened coffee throughout the day or who eat many small carbohydrate snacks will have an acidic mouth almost constantly.
What’s worse is that bacteria love sugar, and they thrive and multiply in an acid environment. So the more sugar you eat, the more acidic your mouth and the more bacteria will grow. The more bacteria you have, the more acid will be produced when you eat sugar. The cycle builds on itself, creating an ever more destructive environment for teeth.
Preventing Cavities
Brush at least twice a day and floss daily to remove plaque from between teeth and below the gum line. Have regular dental checkups. Preventive care can help stop problems from occurring and keep minor problems from becoming major ones. Eat a well-balanced diet that limits starchy or sugary foods. When you do eat these foods, try to eat them with your meal instead of as a snack to minimize the number of times that your teeth are exposed to acid. Use dental products that contain fluoride, including toothpaste. Make sure that your children’s drinking water is fluoridated. If your water supply does not contain fluoride, your dentist or pediatrician may prescribe daily fluoride supplements.