A cavity occurs when bacteria erode at the hard outer layer of your tooth, creating an opening through which bacteria can penetrate and create pain in your mouth. A dentist should be seen immediately to address it for the best results.
Preventing cavities begins with proper brushing techniques, using mouthwash regularly, and visiting your dentist regularly for oral exams. Doing this allows early detection and can stop them from becoming worse.
Plaque
A cavity occurs when bacteria attack a tooth. This typically happens after food debris such as sugary drinks or sweet foods remains on your teeth for extended periods, giving plaque bacteria time to feed on sugar-laden beverages and produce acid that gradually wears away at the enamel, creating erosion that eventually creates holes, known as cavities, in its surfaces – and may result in pain caused by acid reaching pulp inside of teeth.
Plaque is a colorless to pale yellow sticky substance that forms on our teeth and contains millions of bacteria, continually starting on them, along the gum line, between our teeth, and on our tongues. When left alone for too long, it hardens into tartar or calculus, which only a dentist or dental hygienist can remove; when ignored, it leads to tooth decay and periodontal disease – an infection of our gums. If left alone for too long, this will eventually result in tartar-calculus hardening into tartar/calculus that only professionals can remove. If left alone long enough, tartar forms that only specialists such as dentists or dental hygienists can remove this sticky material which forms this substance over time, leading to decay and periodontal disease – an infection of our gums! If left alone, it will result in the deterioration of tooth decay and periodontal disease – a condition of gums and its kind!
Plaque bacteria are ubiquitous inhabitants of our mouths and can be found anywhere from tonsils, throat, nose, and tongue mucous membranes, tongue, and under fingernail beds. These microorganisms live together in biofilms or communities composed of host and bacterial-origin polymers, where their genetic code changes significantly compared with bacteria growing alone. Unfortunately, biofilm communities tend to have altered phenotypes, making them more resistant to antimicrobial agents than their members.
Tooth decay isn’t inevitable; with proper oral hygiene practices, we can prevent cavities from progressing further by brushing twice, flossing once daily, and eating a balanced diet of dairy, meat, vegetables, and fruits. Regular visits to our dentist for cleanings and checkups will also help safeguard against tooth decay. If you experience symptoms like toothache, hot or cold sensitivity, or dark spots on your teeth, please reach out so we can assess your oral health and provide appropriate recommendations for treatment.
Enamel
Your teeth’s outermost layer, called enamel (pronounced: en-AM-il), is protected by a hard, protective substance known as enamel. Although semitranslucent, you can see through it. Cavities form when this rigid material breaks down due to bacteria adhering to its surface; the acid produced by these microbes wears away at enamel until a hole forms that can grow over time, causing pain when exposed to hot or cold foods and beverages.
Though cavities often start small, they can quickly grow worse as bacteria cause your hole to penetrate to reach the dentin inside your tooth and expose nerves and blood vessels in its center. When that happens, pain ensues with an infection known as a dental abscess.
Attracting cavities is usually avoidable with proper oral care routines and habits, including eating less sugary and starchy food, regularly brushing and flossing your teeth, and regularly visiting our office for dental cleaning. If you need assistance or think you may have cavities, please reach out – our staff would be delighted to assist!
Cloisonne enamel was a technique popular during Byzantium and Celtic times before becoming popularly practiced by workshops in Limoges, France, where workshops became more renowned. Though complex in execution, its results are beautiful yet long-term.
The color of enamel depends on what materials are added to it and its base metal. Gold makes an excellent foundation for enamel because its acids do not react with acids in its formula; copper and tombak plates also work well, with copper being ideal because etching allows for more excellent detail work. Once in place, heat treatment must cure enamel before filing and polishing to achieve a polished final look.
Dentin
Enamel covers the outer surface of a tooth, while inside lies dentin. When in a healthy mouth, enamel and dentin work in harmony together to protect each other, but if bacteria feed on sugar from food and beverages without being washed away quickly enough, they can produce acids that attack enamel and dentin, eventually leading to cavities forming in teeth – although many think a niche means an obvious hole, these small pits or cracks might only become noticeable using dental mirrors or x-rays. It is, therefore, vital that regular visits to see your dentist are made every six months so as soon as any potential problems appear, if possible – see your dentist as quickly as possible as soon as you detect anything like this to prevent deeper problems from forming; otherwise further issues could progress more rapidly – therefore regular check-up visits are crucial so as soon as any potential problems develop so as soon as they arise to treat.
Dentin is a challenging and translucent material similar to enamel that contains minerals such as calcium phosphate (CaP). Although less mineralized than enamel, dentin scores three on Mohs’ mineral hardness scale. It surrounds each tooth’s pulp with tubules containing cells and fluid – making it somewhat softer than its counterpart enamel.
Dentin is a living tissue composed of various cell types that make it more flexible in responding to temperature changes than enamel, making it capable of adapting its shape according to temperature variations. Dentin contains collagen protein as well as other connective tissue.
Odontoblasts that produce dentin develop over an extensive area along the Dentin-Enamel Junction (DEJ). Over time, more layers of dentin accumulate, thickening gradually with time.
At first, primary dentin forms near the enamel; secondary dentin then develops toward the root. Furthermore, tertiary dentin may form rapidly due to stimuli such as acid.
As dentin ages, it becomes softer and more porous than enamel, enabling it to adapt more readily to changes in diet or environment. This process, known as remineralization, underscores why regular brushing and flossing of teeth is so crucial.
Dentin can also be damaged by acids, hot or cold foods, and beverages, or dental instruments used for abrasion. Such damage can result in tooth sensitivity and pain as well as bad breath or an unpleasant odor in the mouth, receding gums that expose more of a tooth’s surface for plaque accumulation, receding gums that expose further tooth surface area for plaque build-up, receding gums that expose further of a tooth surface area for decay, etc.
Treatment
A cavity, commonly called tooth decay, is an opening in the complex, the outermost layer of your teeth called enamel. It forms due to bacteria, sugar, and acid eating away at it. Untreated cavities can progress over time until eventually eating through to the nerves inside a tooth, causing severe pain; untreated cavities can even lead to mouth infection (dental abscess), necessitating more extensive and costly treatment methods – such as removal.
Most cavities are preventable. Regular brushing and flossing, using antiseptic mouthwash to rinse after each meal, and visiting a dentist regularly are all proven ways of helping reduce or even avoid cavities. A diet low in sugar but high in calcium can also aid this goal, as can limiting snacks or drinks between meals that contain sugary substances.
Cavities are most prevalent among children and teenagers, though anyone of any age is susceptible. Cavities may develop due to factors like eating habits, genetics, medication use, dry mouth (xerostomia), or poor oral hygiene; those more vulnerable may form more readily than others.
Signs of cavities include pain when chewing hot or cold foods and beverages, toothache, and dark spots on your tooth. If any of these symptoms arise, don’t wait! Contact us immediately so we can provide an exam and cleaning to catch it early and repair it with fillings if necessary.
If left untreated, cavities can spread into deeper levels of teeth, eating away at enamel and dentin before reaching the painful pulp (the innermost portion containing nerves and blood vessels). At this stage, extraction and replacement are the only solutions; which type will depend on how damaged both enamel and nerves have become; in more severe cases, root canal therapy may be required.
