Cavities are decayed areas affecting a tooth that become small openings. Once they become deep enough due to lack of treatment, they can start to attack the living tissues inside a tooth, compromising its future health.

Cavities don’t form overnight though, so you do have an opportunity to spot them and prevent them from worsening.

How long does it take for a cavity to develop?

The answer to this question isn’t overly helpful – it can take anything from 6 months to 5 years to develop a cavity that needs treatment, depending on a range of circumstances.

One thing we can guarantee is that a cavity won’t heal on its own – it will eventually need treatment, so if your dentist suggests restorative treatment like a filling when the cavity is in its infancy, it’s a sensible idea to go ahead with this.

Factors determining the onset of a cavity include:

The acid levels in your mouth) cavities start to form when you expose your mouth to regular acid attacks by eating acid-rich foods and sugar.

Solution: drink plenty of water after consuming high-acid and high-sugar food and drink. Avoid regular consumption of citrus fruit and sugary drinks – both significant culprits behind acid erosion and enamel deterioration.

Thickness of tooth enamel) enamel located near the gum line is thinner, therefore cavities can form more quickly in this area than they do on the top of individual teeth. If your tooth enamel has worn away and dentin is exposed, the cavity is likely to worsen more quickly, as dentin is weaker than your tooth enamel.

Solution: use a remineralising toothpaste to repair acid-weakened tooth enamel. If you have exposed dentin as a result of gum tissue wear, you may need treatment to reintroduce gum tissue over the top of the exposed dentine - this is called a gum graft.

Quality of your tooth enamel) mineral-rich tooth enamel takes longer to sustain cavities.

The body contains high levels of phosphorus and most of it is found in your teeth. Phosphorous works with calcium to protect and rebuild your tooth enamel. Replenishing phosphorous is important for the maintenance and repair of your body tissues and teeth.

Solution: up the amount of calcium and phosphorous in your diet to protect your tooth enamel by eating leafy greens, cheese, almonds and turkey (which is a huge source of phosphorous and should be more prominent in our diets as it’s incredibly low in fat and high in protein too!)

What happens if I don’t have treatment for a cavity?

Without treatment, a small cavity will grow and grow, destroying more and more of your tooth.

Whilst the rate at which it does this is hard to predict (depending predominantly on how robust your tooth enamel is), you can be sure your tooth will need extracting without tooth-saving treatment like root canal therapy.

Trust us when we say that the pain and damage that accompany an untreated cavity is significantly worse than the very minor discomfort that can sometimes be involved with the treatment to fix it.

And, cavities don’t stop at destroying your teeth.

Once they have gnawed away at your tooth, infected matter can then enter your bloodstream, potentially causing tissue, bone and organ damage. So cavities may look innocent when they first develop, but they are a serious health condition if allowed to continue destroying your tooth one layer of enamel at a time.

Need advice about a cavity? Ask our dentists

If you think you might be suffering from a cavity and you’re struggling to find a dentist, get in touch with the dentists at Nova Smiles using this form.

It’s completely free of charge to get in touch and our dentists can refer you to a reputable dentist in your area for treatment if required.

We’ve also created a comprehensive guide on tooth decay if you''d like to read more about how and why decay and cavities develop.