Dental caries, also known as tooth decay, cavities, or caries, is a breakdown of teeth due to activities of bacteria.
Colors: Differs from yellow to black.
Symptoms:Pain and difficulty with eating.
Complications : Inflammation of the tissue around the tooth, tooth loss, and infection or abscess formation.
The cause of caries is bacterial breakdown of the hard tissues of the teeth (enamel, dentin and cementum). This occurs due to acidmade from food debris or sugar on the tooth surface. Simple sugars in food are these bacteria's primary energy source and thus a diet high in simple sugar is a risk factor. If mineral breakdown is greater than build up from sources such as saliva, caries results.
Caries is also associated with poor cleaning of the mouth, and receding gums resulting in exposure of the roots of the teeth.