If you’ve ever taken chemistry, either you or someone in your class was clumsy enough to spill a little bit of hydrochloric acid on their clothing. Although it was diluted, you’d see that after a while, it burned a hole in the shirt.
Well that’s kind of how dental cavities work.
Cavities are exactly what their name means: they’re holes in your tooth that form when plaque builds up in your teeth overtime from poor dental care.
What’s plaque you may ask?
Plaque is an extremely adhesive substance that’s made of a build up of leftover food particles and saliva in your mouth. If you don’t brush your teeth properly, a lot of plaque can build up on your teeth, and this is a problem because this plaque contains a lot of bacteria. This bacteria actually produces lactic acid, which eats away at your tooth’s enamel (outer covering of the tooth that protects the crown). Over time, this acid can actually eat away enough tooth material to poke a hole in it, and that’s when it needs to be addressed by a dentist.
When you get a cavity fixed, you can get a number of procedures done.
Fluoride treatment is one of them, where the tooth enamel is repaired through a process called remineralization.
You also might need to get your cavity filled in, where a dentist removes the decayed material and fills in the hole with materials such as amalgam, composite resin, or metals.
All this being said, the best treatment for a cavity will ALWAYS be to prevent it from happening in the first place! This means taking good care of your teeth on a regular basis, and getting your teeth checked up by your dental care provider every 6 months.
If your 6 months are coming up, go ahead and schedule an appointment with one of our offices today, and we’ll make sure your teeth stay white and hole-free 🦷
