Everyone is potentially affected by tooth decay and some people are more at risk that others. You can prevent problems with decay by looking after your teeth, being careful about how much sugar you eat and drink and visiting your dentist for regular check ups.
Dental decay is a gradual but avoidable process when teeth are dissolved away by acid produced in the mouth by bacteria. Everyone’s teeth are covered in plaque which is made up of millions of bacteria. When sugary foods are eaten, or sugary drinks taken, the bacteria feed on the sugar and release acid, which dissolves the enamel.
Decay can be prevented by establishing good dietary habits and cutting down on sugar intake, and by good mouth care including regular tooth brushing with a fluoride based toothpaste and the use of aids to clean between teeth – like dental floss
Your dentist should check for decay at every check-up by careful visual examination and gentle probing of the teeth, and it is recommended that x-rays are taken at regular intervals to look for early decay in the enamel between the teeth. If very early signs of dental decay are present then your dentist can spot these and advise you how to avoid a filling becoming necessary.
However if your dentist detects decay at a later stage, then it can be treated by a small simple filling which may be tooth-coloured. Often early decay is not at all painful and so your dentist can detect it before you are aware of symptoms.
Unfortunately if decay is left to progress for too long then it begins to cause symptoms of pain as the cavity and the progess of tooth destruction proceeds towards the nerve in the tooth. If it is detected before reaching the nerve then the larger cavity can usually be filled but sometimes a crown will be required.
If the decay reaches the nerve of the tooth then the nerve is likely to become infected, and apart from possibly being very painful, an abscess may form. At this stage the tooth will require root canal treatment to treat the infection. If you regularly see your dentist then decay should almost always be detected before it reaches the nerve of the tooth and so the need for costly and lengthy root canal treatment should be avoided. The alternative to root canal treatment is extraction.
Everyone is potentially affected by tooth decay and some people are more at risk that others. You can prevent problems with decay by looking after your teeth, being careful about how much sugar you eat and drink and visiting your dentist for regular check ups.