How many people get cavities in their lifetime?

Almost everyone has one or two cavities in their lifetime, even with good dental hygiene. The average American adult has three fillings. But if you tend to have a lot of cavities, you might wonder why. Tooth decay is the most prevalent infectious disease in humans and affects 97 percent of the population throughout their lives.

As a result of the pathological process known as dental caries, the occurrence of tooth decay is a complex and multifactorial scenario. Caries is an acid demineralization of the teeth induced by a biofilm and requires the right combination of conditions to progress. When tooth enamel is subjected to a pH lower than 5.5, it begins to demineralize. Above this so-called critical pH, an attenuating repair process can occur: remineralization.

Remineralization, in turn, is influenced by the presence of salivary minerals, the available fluoride ion and the salivary flow. When the tug-of-war balance is tilted to the side of demineralization for a period of time without proportional and compensatory remineralization, the decay process can progress to the point of cavitation and create a visible cavity. This cavity must then be restored through surgical dentistry procedures, better known as fillings. Studies show that more than 90% of Americans have some level of tooth decay, while 25% have one or more cavities that haven't yet been filled.