Tooth Decay
Cavities or tooth decay is caused by acid-producing bacteria which stick to your teeth. These bacteria, when allowed enough time in contact with the teeth (approximately 24-48 hours), and given the right food (any carbohydrate, such as bread) will eat this same food that you do and will produce their waste product. This waste product is an acid which eats through your tooth structure, causing decay.
As time goes on, the damage to your tooth spreads and the bacteria begin to inhabit and invade into the enamel. If the process is allowed to progress long enough, they will infect the dentin (the inner layer of the hard tissue of your tooth) and will eventually reach the pulp, where the blood vessels and nerves that give a tooth its life are found. Often it is not until this point that symptoms are felt.
Tooth Decay Is an Infection
Unfortunately, once a tooth starts to hurt, it may be impossible to keep it alive. There is a reason the tooth cannot defend itself against infection. Since inside your tooth is a confined space that cannot swell, as the infection-fighting blood cells enter the area and run of out of room, the infection spreads out the tip of the root, and ends up in the jawbone. At this point the infection is called an abscess. If the infection is allowed to progress from here, it will often enlarge to the point where the bone can no longer contain it, and it will actually penetrate or break through the bone and end up in the soft tissue spaces of your face, appearing as a swelling. If this swelling is not treated promptly and aggressively, it can invade through your soft tissue to your brain and you could die. Not a pretty picture; and all from a simple little “harmless” cavity.
Preventing Tooth Decay
As mentioned, most often the first sign or symptom with cavities occurs when this infection has already reached the nerve of the tooth, and at this point it is already quite difficult and costly to treat, and always ends up with a less than optimal result. It is much less painful, less costly and much more fun to prevent this cavity from ever starting in the first place. This can be accomplished simply and effectively with great certainty thanks to modern 21st century technology.
The two most vulnerable areas of your tooth are the grooves on the biting surface and the contact point between the teeth. Prevention in each area requires a different tactic.
Keeping the grooves from decaying involves the use of dental sealants. See our dental sealants page to read more about that.
Preventing decay between the teeth is best done by flossing. See our flossing page to read more about that.
Fluoride is also an excellent preventive for all types of decay, as it strengthens the enamel to be more resistant.