Cavities have become a common dental problem. And in children they rarely occur in just one tooth. Any parent who’s suffered through that can attest to it. But why do they form in the first place?

Three things should be present in the mouth for cavities to form in the teeth – bad germs, refined carbohydrates (sugary things), nooks and crannies around the teeth where food can get stuck for a long time.

Even if one of the above is missing, a cavity cannot form.

If all three are present in the mouth then it causes a chemical reaction that produces acid. This acid leeches out the calcium from the teeth causing them to become soft or decayed.

On a molecular level, every time we eat, calcium leaves our teeth and enters the saliva. After 20 minutes this calcium goes back into teeth.

But when there is an imbalance in this process, all the calcium that came out into the saliva does not go back into the tooth. If this continues over a period of time (weeks and months), the tooth becomes softer because of the loss of calcium and cavities start forming.

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