Tooth Decay
What is tooth decay?
One of the most common problems patients have is what we call tooth decay or dental cavities. How do these dental cavities occur or what causes tooth decay? They are not caused by the sugars in your food or drink. No, tooth decay is caused by bacteria living in your mouth. Now, it’s not the bacteria eating your teeth like hungry teenagers eating pizza, but the acid that bacteria create when they feed off the sugars in your food and drinks.
- Tooth Decay is the result of Bacteria in the mouth. They make acid that eat away at the tooth
- It can lead to pain, infection, and tooth loss
- Plaque contains bacteria that feed on sugars in your food
- Things that can cause tooth decay are poor oral hygiene,eating or drinking things with lots of sugar, not getting enough fluoride, not having enough saliva, diabetes, smoking, or using smokeless tobacco
- Tooth decay can be prevented by seeing your dentist on a regular basis, brushing and flossing twice a day, and avoiding things that can cause tooth decay
Over time, a bacteria-rich substance will start to build up on the surface of your tooth. We refer to this substance as Plaque or Calculus. Don’t worry! You don’t have a bunch of overextended mathematical equations stuck to your teeth. You can learn more about Plaque and what it is made of by following this link to our page on Plaque.
We all have bad habits, and do we really floss and brush after every meal? If we did, there would be a lot less dentists in the world. There is no way to cure tooth decay, you can only prevent it. Just brushing and flossing won’t prevent cavities from forming. We need to stay away from the things that can help bacteria survive and grow. Things like eating and drinking things full of sugar, not getting enough fluoride, not having a lot of saliva, diabetes, and smoking or using smokeless tobacco.
We want to help you fight tooth decay. The best set of teeth you can get are the ones you already have. So visit your dentist on regular basis, brush and floss in the morning and at night, and stay away from things that can cause tooth decay.