{"id":120,"date":"2016-12-27T08:59:28","date_gmt":"2016-12-27T13:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drjim.webemissary.com\/?p=120"},"modified":"2017-04-21T12:37:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T16:37:00","slug":"what-are-cavities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drjimdental.com\/what-are-cavities\/","title":{"rendered":"What are Cavities?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dental caries or cavities, more commonly known as tooth decay, are caused by a breakdown of the tooth enamel. This breakdown is the result of bacteria on teeth that breakdown foods and produce acid that destroys tooth enamel and results in tooth decay.<\/p>\n

Although dental caries are largely preventable, they remain the most common chronic disease of children aged 6 to 11 years and adolescents aged 12 to 19 years. Tooth decay is four times more common than asthma among adolescents aged 14 to 17 years. Dental caries also affects adults, with 9 out of 10 over the age of 20 having some degree of tooth-root decay 1<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Water fluoridation, named by CDC as one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century, has been a major contributor to the decline of the rate of tooth decay. Studies have shown that water fluoridation can reduce the amount of decay in children\u2019s teeth by 18-40% 2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n

In addition to fluoridated water, good oral hygiene can help prevent tooth decay:<\/p>\n