Why am I getting cavities now when I didn't before?!

Why am I getting cavities now when I didn't before?

I take very good care of my teeth. I normally brush them 3 times daily and floss every day. When I was younger (I'm 21 now), I never flossed and sometimes only brushed in the morning. I never had cavities when I took worse care of my teeth and now I have at least one every time I go to the dentist (have for the past couple of years).

I have recently noticed that I wake up with a very dry mouth most mornings - not sure why, but that could be related to allergy medications. Could this be the cause of my cavities? If so, do you have any suggestions for not getting dry-mouth at night?

5 days ago
Just to clarify, my dry mouth only comes at night - and I rarely ever wake during the night to drink water or anything.

First, dry mouth is very common at night, your saliva flow will slow dramatically and this may be even more so with your allergy medications. You can get cavities at any time during your lifetime, but I am going to guess it is dietary related. I have seen this happen with some of my patients. If you are eating candies, even small ones like altoids or cough drops your teeth are being exposed to acids that are produced by your mouth breaking down these sugars. Usually the acids hang around for about 20 minutes breaking down the tooth enamel causing decay. If not candy it could be the same acid cycle when sipping a drink at your desk, many people will sip a drink all day which exposes you to acids all day (even sugar free drinks have acid in them). Cavities can also be caused by acid reflux. It may also be that you had the beginnings of small cavities before, but they were not big enough to be fixed before and now they are. I would recommend an over the counter fluoride rinse (ACT or Fluoriguard) nightly as your home care routine sounds great! Good luck!
JAMRDH - a dental hygienist