Because Halloween is right around the corner, on today’s Dental Minute I want to talk a little bit about something today that we don’t all really understand, and that is a cavity. A cavity is essentially a tiny hole in your tooth caused by bacteria. When you eat or drink things with sugar or starch or things that are just acidic, more acidic than a normal pH, and that can be like a Diet Coke, an energy drink, a juice. The bacteria in your mouth feeds on that and produces acid. Over time, that acid can break through the tooth structure and cause a hole or a cavity. That’s basically how a cavity forms.
When caught early, a cavity is usually an easy fix. What we do is we go in, we remove all the decayed tooth structure until we’re on nice solid tooth structure, and then we fill that with a resin material. Left untreated, the decay can actually eat away more of the tooth structure. Once it gets into those deeper layers of tooth structure, a cavity and bacteria moves really, really quickly. Left untreated that can turn into a root canal, a crown, or even the loss of a tooth and extraction. That’s something that we’re trying to avoid.
The good news, cavities are preventable. Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, flossing daily, and then coming in to see us twice a year can really help prevent cavities and if you already have cavities. We’re just trying to help you keep things where they are. What we can do is stop things before they get too big, which costs you more money down the road, more time down the road, more discomfort down the road. We want to catch things when they’re small and manageable. That makes it easier on us and it makes it easier on you.
Think of cavities as tiny little problems that can turn into big ones if ignored. If you have any questions about cavities or you’re ready to schedule your checkup, give us a call at 270-685-1777. Have a great week!