I don't know that I can find any sources to cite but I once wrote some code for an anthropologist analyzing prehistoric tooth scans, and he mentioned that modern dental carries are substantially more common now than they were in the past because acid producing bacteria thrive on refined sugars that weren't used in modern quantities until fairly recent history.
equalunique|6 years ago
The way my dentist put it, and it's stuck with me, is: Tooth decay is caused by the bacteria in your mouth eating sugar and peeing acid.