Did you ever notice a black spot or a hole in your tooth? That is a cavity or decay, also known as dental caries. Take them seriously. Otherwise, it can lead to serious complications, including tooth loss. To prevent it, you must visit the dentist for screening visits.
Often people do not take dental caries seriously. But if it becomes infected, it can lead to a severe tooth infection that can make it difficult to eat food and affect your health. Make sure to visit the dentist every six months for screening visits. To get an expert opinion, you can consult the Dentist in Karachi.
Dental caries is a complex and dynamic bacterial disease. It involves demineralization and remineralization of the inorganic substance of your tooth. It also involves the destruction of the organic substance of your tooth.
Initiation And Progression Of Dental Caries
Your teeth consist of enamel, dentine, pulp, and supporting structures.
The enamel is the outermost part of your teeth. That is part of your teeth visible when you smile. Yes, this is the hardest part of your body, even harder than your bones.
Your enamel contains 96% inorganic substances that have enamel prisms. Crystals called hydroxyapatite crystals get together to form enamel prisms. These crystals gain strength with the help of fluoride.
You get fluoride via meals or toothpaste. These crystals get converted to fluorapatite crystals by gaining fluoride. Fluorapatite crystals are a much stronger form of inorganic substance. These fluorapatite crystals also help to prevent decay.
Now, coming towards the organic substance of your tooth. These contain proteins called enamelin, tufelin, etc.
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Apart from organic and inorganic substances, your enamel also contains water. The hydroxyapatite crystals in enamel form from this water.
The presence of organic substances, inorganic substances, and water makes enamel hard. Being the hardest structure brings many responsibilities to it.
Whenever you eat something sweet, the bacteria act on it. That results in the production of acid. The acid handles the demineralization of the outer part of the tooth surface. When your tooth demineralizes, the normal mechanism of healing activates. Healing starts demineralization of the tooth.
What Are The Causes Of Dental Caries?
This process of demineralization and remineralization results in dental caries. But sweets are not the only cause of caries. Caries is a multifactorial disease. It means that many other factors also involve in causing caries. These include:
Bacterial count
Lesser bacteria lead to less chance of your tooth getting carious. Some people, by nature, have fewer bacteria in their normal flora and so their teeth get less carious.
Type of food
Sugary and sticky food is harder to remove, which leads to caries.
Amount of fluoride
If you have less fluoride and other minerals in your tooth, this can weaken your tooth structure, causing caries.
Saliva
Saliva is the natural protector and buffers in your oral cavity. It does not let acidity stay in your mouth by neutralizing the acid. Less saliva means more chance of caries.
Time exposure
The more time the bacteria spends with the sugar in your tooth, the more it becomes prone to dental caries. Therefore sugar can be the most hurtful thing that leads to dental caries.
Preventing Dental Caries
To prevent dental caries, the following things can help:
- Consume less sugary or sticky food
- Use fluoridated toothpaste
- Maintain oral hygiene by brushing twice a day after meals and by flossing daily
- Limit sweet intake to only a particular time of day
- Drink adequate water to prevent dry mouth
The Bottom Line
Resisting chocolates is not an easy task. But sometimes you must do that for your teeth. The cure for caries may be restoration or root canal treatment. But prevention is always better than cure. So, you must take measures to prevent yourself from having caries.
Make sure to brush your teeth twice daily, especially at night at bedtime. When you sleep with sugar in your mouth, it is the best place for the bacteria to reside. Brushing them frequently can help prevent bacterial growth. Also, make a habit of flossing daily.
To keep your dental cavity clean and prevent dental caries, you should attend screening visits with your healthcare provider. To get an expert opinion, you can consult a Dentist in Lahore.
