Dental decay or cavities is a disease caused by bacteria which affect both deciduous (milk) teeth as well as permanent teeth.
Sugars which are present in our diets are digested by these bacteria and the by products of this are acidic.
These acids then demineralise natural teeth and cause destruction of the enamel surface.
Over time this constant acid effect on teeth will lead to further destruction and a cavity will form.
Cavities will become more difficult to clean and more bacteria will be found within these difficult to reach cavities.
The outer surface of all natural teeth is covered by an extremely hard material known as enamel.
This white hard substance is responsible for providing protection to the whole tooth including the nerve and blood supply.
Dental decay will take a long time to penetrate through the enamel layer, usually a few months however once it has penetrated through it will reach the dentine part of a tooth.
Unlike enamel dentine is much softer and allows decay to progress much faster.
Dentine is the largest component of natural teeth.
Unlike enamel it has connections with the dental nerve and will pass information about temperature and pain to the dental nerve.
Once decay progresses deep enough symptoms will become apparent and the tooth may start to feel sensitive and respond to cold and heat.
It is usually at this stage when the dental decay is quite deep that patients realise they have a problem.
When seeing a dentist for an examination the dentist will usually take radiographs to diagnose any decay.
The small decay lesions will show up as small areas of darkness under the enamel layer.
If diagnosed early the dentist is able to remove these areas of decay and replace them with a filling.
During the procedure local anaesthetic is used to help numb the tooth while the dentist treats the cavity.
The process of decay in toddlers is exactly the same.
Dental decay is still caused by the same kinds of bacteria which cause decay in adults.
Toddlers usually inherit these bacteria from their mother.
As discussed above the bacteria digest sugars to produce acids.
Toddlers will consume sugars if their diet is not controlled by the parents during early childhood.
Foods and drinks containing high amounts of sugars will lead to bacteria producing large amounts of acids which will lead to decay.
Unlike adult teeth deciduous teeth found in toddlers have much thinner amounts of enamel covering the teeth hence decay will progress much faster in deciduous teeth than in adult teeth.
Dental treatment of these deciduous teeth is very difficult as children will usually not enjoy a trip to the dentist when they are very young.
While trying to not inflict any pain on children during dental treatment is may be very difficult to carry out treatment properly.
It is therefore very important to make sure that decay doesn't start in the first place as this will lead to complex problems.
So the answer to the main question of when should you start to brush toddlers teeth should be best answered as soon as your toddler has natural teeth.
As long as toddlers have teeth and they are consuming foods, it is very important to start with a brushing regime.
A soft brush and children's tooth paste is recommended to reduce the chances of decay starting.
Brushing after each meal is both beneficial and will lead to good oral hygiene habits later on in life.