HEALTHY
MOUTH, HEALTHY LIFE!
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So,
what is a cavity anyway?
Where do we find them? Where do they come
from and how can they be prevented?
Your
dentist calls them dental caries and we spend our careers trying to
stop them from spreading. Think about it: have you ever been to a
visit with the dentist without them and the hygienist reviewing
proper oral hygiene. It's the sound of a constant drumbeat - brush
twice a day for 2 minutes... make sure you floss daily… do you use
a fluoride rinse?… and on and on and on. I often joke with my
patients that we must be the only professionals that are trying to
put ourselves out of business!
Let's
face it, most of us have had at least one cavity, even those that
heed our warning and follow a good home-care regimen, but following
your dentist's recommendations will vastly reduce your risk and keep
us from having to pick up our drill.
Here
are 5 facts about cavities that you may not have known:
1.
A cavity is a bacterial infection
On
the
most
basic
level a cavity is simply an acid burn. You may have heard that sugar
causes cavities, and that is indirectly very
true. The direct cause is the production of acid from bacteria that
we all have in our mouths. The main culprit is one call streptococcus
mutans, but there are others, and
depending on the patient they
play different roles.
This
acid begins to erode the enamel, which is the hard outer layer of
your tooth. This small hole that starts becomes more difficult to
clean, which starts a downward spiral of greater collection of
bacteria and deepening of the
cavity.
Where
does this acid come from? It's the byproduct of the sugars and other
carbohydrates that are eaten by the oral
bacteria after you have your meal or snack.
These
bacteria form colonies that build up to form plaque. Dentists call
this a biofilm, which is nothing more than a huge group of bacteria
held together by their own sheer
will
and a few other main ingredients, often
produced
by the bacteria themselves.
So
imagine the number of bacteria that needs to be present for you to be
able to see
it! These microorganisms reproduce very quickly (some create an
entirely new generation in about 20 minutes!), so brushing twice and
flossing once
daily helps to reduce these numbers, allowing you to contain their
spread.
2.
Your teeth may be constantly under attack
Since
we covered the bacterial production of acid with respect to the foods
we eat, we can take that a step further. To get you up to speed
without giving you high school chemistry nightmares – a greater
acid concentration means a lower pH. Each time we eat, the acid
content increases and therefore the pH in our mouth falls. People
that eat more often, especially those that frequently snack on sugary
foods, will have their oral pH in the cavity-producing danger zone
more frequently. This has been found through research to be below a
pH of 5.5. This fluctuation is know as the Stephan Curve, which is
seen below. It is best controlled with proper, brushing, flossing and
rinsing habits to reduce the sugars and bacteria that may have
collected.
 |
| A Stephan Curve - www.oralanswers.com |
There
are some foods and beverages, usually taken in between meals, that
are tooth killers. These will ensure that your teeth spend overtime
below the safe pH level: Soda (or any type of carbonated drink),
sports drinks, energy drinks, juice (especially citrus), sugary
chewing gum, and, of course, candy. At
CrossKeys Dental, we don't ask that you change your life, but that
you understand how Stephan's Curve
works and realize the importance of oral hygiene.
So,
a nutritionist and a dentist have different opinions with regard to
timing. When looking at Stephan's Curve,
it makes more sense to eat all of your food in fewer sessions. For
instance: Halloween just passed. From a dentist's view, your teeth
would be safer if you ate the entire bag of candy in one sitting
rather than spreading it over several
days.
Of course, you might end up with a stomach ache... but the acid
attack on your teeth would be limited to one event rather than many.
3.
Cavities
are contagious
Like
any infection, dental caries can be spread from person-to-person or
tooth-to-tooth. Just
like when you pass a cold virus to your coworkers, you can pass your
oral bacteria to other people. This can happen easily if you are not
taking good care of your mouth. It
even means that sharing a spoon or licking a baby's pacifier can be
bad news. In the image below, you will see what many dentists call
“kissing caries”. It sounds a lot cuter than it is... It's
actually the spread of the dental infection, or
cavity,
from one tooth to another. Here you see it happening several times.
 |
| "Kissing Caries" - Farida et al, 2012 |
4.
Dental
caries is the most prevalent childhood disease
As
reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Although
dental caries are largely preventable, they remain the most common
chronic disease of children aged 6 to 11 years and adolescents aged
12 to 19 years. Tooth decay is four times more common than asthma
among adolescents aged 14 to 17 years. Dental caries also affects
adults, with 9 out of 10 over the age of 20 having some degree of
tooth-root decay”. This was reported in the CDC's Vital and Health
Statistics report in 2007. Here
are some key facts to consider:
-
By age 15, approximately 60% of all adolescents will have experienced tooth decay (CDC, 2007)
-
An often cited study estimated 51.7 million school hours are missed annually by school-aged children because of a dental problem or visit (Gift, 1992)
-
In 2009, the total dental expenses for U.S. children aged 5–17 years were approximately $20 billion (US Department of Health and Human Services; 2013), accounting for 17.7% of all health-care expenses among this age group (US Department of Health and Human Services; 2012)
It
does not have to be this way. Dental cavities are largely preventable
with good education leading
to
proper
hygiene.
5.
A cavity doesn't usually hurt.
I
will
often reveal
to someone
that they
have a cavity, and I
will show
it to them on our HD monitor, and I hear “But I don't feel
anything”. It takes a long time for a tooth to start bothering you
due to a cavity. In fact, if you have a toothache due to a cavity
(lots of things can cause your teeth to hurt), it's probably too late
for a simple filling. When you have spontaneous pain or sensitivity
to temperature,
especially heat, it's likely time for a root canal. It
is recommended to have your cavities repaired when they are small so
that you can avoid additional, costly fees to save the tooth.
As
an old professor in dental school used to say: We need 4 things to
cause a cavity– teeth, carbohydrates, time and bacteria. Of course,
getting rid of your teeth isn't the solution, we can't stop eating
and we have yet to figured out how to stop time. The only factor that
can be controlled is the bacterial load. So why are you still reading
this? Have you brushed your teeth yet?
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CrossKeys Dental is located at 110 CrossKeys Office Park in Fairport. Dr. DuPre` and Dr. Badali provide comprehensive family dentistry and are always welcoming new patients. Visit us atwww.CrossKeysDentalFairport.com for more information. Written by Vince Badali, DDS
