The First Steps With Tooth Decay

Destruction of tooth structure by acid produced when bacteria ferment sugars.

Key takeaways

• Main driver: frequency of free sugar intake
• Free sugar limit, adults: 30g a day
• Most useful single change: Reduce how often you eat or drink sugar, not only how much.
• Commonest mistake: Sipping sugary or acidic drinks across the day.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

Why bother

It is driven by how often sugar is eaten rather than how much, which is why grazing matters more than portion size.

Start here

Begin here, with two things rather than ten.

• Reduce how often you eat or drink sugar, not only how much
• Keep sugary food to mealtimes

Then add these

After that, these.

• Use fluoride toothpaste and do not rinse after brushing
• Drink water or milk between meals

The numbers, in one place

Common early mistakes

• Sipping sugary or acidic drinks across the day
• Sugary food or drink in the hour before bed
• Giving sugary drinks in bottles or sippy cups to young children

Where to go next

• Tooth Decay: Common Myths and What Guidelines Say
• A Q and A on Tooth Decay
• Tooth Decay — the reference entry
• Dental Check-Ups: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise
• Mouth Ulcers: What Published Guidance Supports

When to speak to a doctor

See a dentist for toothache lasting more than a day or two, sensitivity that persists, or a visible hole or dark spot. Seek urgent dental care for facial swelling, fever, or pain that keeps you awake, which suggests an abscess. Go to A&E for swelling affecting your eye, floor of the mouth, or breathing.

Where this comes from

• NHS — Tooth decay
• Delivering Better Oral Health — toolkit

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.