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Take a look inside your mouth at the big molar teeth in the back. See those deep grooves
on the tops and sides? That's one of the most common places for tooth decay or dental caries
to begin. You can help prevent cavities from developing by brushing after meals and snacks -
at least twice daily for two full minutes. Try to cut back on sugary snacks, soda pop
and sports and energy drinks. Otherwise what's going on in these teeth could happen to yours.
If food deposits are allowed to stay in the pits and fissures of the teeth, bacterial
acids and enzymes can dissolve away the enamel. Acids from food and drink can also directly
dissolve enamel. Here's another place where bacterial plaque accumulates. On the sides
of the teeth along the gums and between the teeth. That's why it's so important to brush
the sides of our teeth as well as the tops, angling the bristle tips beneath the gums...
and then flossing between the teeth every day to get rid of the fuzzy plaque. If it's
allowed to remain between the teeth, you may develop cavities on the interproximal surfaces,
which require the removal of more healthy tooth structure to fix. It's also where most
gum disease begins.