Tooth decay (dental caries)

Tooth decay is a type of damage to the hard surface of your tooth. It happens when bacteria turn leftover sugar on your teeth into acid. 

What is tooth decay? {#overview}

Tooth decay symptoms {#symptoms}

What causes tooth decay? {#causes}

Diagnosis of tooth decay {#diagnosis}

Tooth decay treatment {#treatment}

How to prevent tooth decay

Tooth decay complications {#overflow}

error

 There was an error when submitting your feedback – have a screen break then try again in a few minutes.

Oh no, something’s gone wrong

ANY COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS?

initial

This isn’t helpful

This isn’t relevant

Something is wrong

This isn’t accurate

Please select one.

loading

success

We're listening – we use your feedback to improve your experience, and make our content more helpful.

Thank you for your feedback

References

Healthily's medical team

Article information

All of Healthily's articles undergo medical safety checks to verify that the information is medically safe. View more details in our <a href="/safety" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">safety page</a>, or read our <a href="/legal/editorial-policy-principles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">editorial policy</a>.

Tooth decay, also known as dental decay or dental caries, is when acids in your mouth dissolve the outer layers of your teeth. ((dental caries))

Tooth decay, also known as dental decay or dental caries, is when acids in your mouth dissolve the outer layers of your teeth.