Your Oral Health

The 4 Things You Need to Know About Tooth Decay / Cavities

And ways to keep your teeth healthy!

One of the world’s most leading dental health problems today is tooth decay. Whenever you visit your dentist, you may hear the dentist refer to tiny jagged openings in your teeth as cavities. However, you should also know that these problems appear in older adults, teenagers, small children, and infants. Therefore, everyone must learn as much as possible about how to spot the causes, symptoms, and complications of tooth decay. The following information is to help you develop a plan of prevention.

That said, here are four essential things you need to know about cavities/tooth decay.

1. Causes of Tooth Decay / Cavities

For the most part, your dentist is responsible for the condition of your teeth. Though this may be true, you cannot neglect your role in maintaining good oral health. Here are some tips you can take to reduce the chance of tooth decay:

• Eliminate sugary drinks
• Reduce snacks
• Regular brushing
• Schedule semi-annual dental cleaning and inspections
• Floss your teeth

2. What are the Symptoms of Tooth Decay and Cavities?

The signs and symptoms of tooth decay vary from person to person. Thus, the symptoms that you experience are dependent upon the location of the dental decay. However, here is a short list of signs of tooth decay that need attention:

• If you experience sharp pain when you bite down is an indicator of possible tooth decay.
• Hot/Cold tooth sensitivity.
• Visible tooth decay.
• Some tooth decay can appear as staining on the surface of your teeth (i.e., black, white, or brown colorings).
• Tooth pain that becomes evident without an apparent cause.

3. How these Complications can Grow in Severity

Since children and adults alike are subject to tooth decay and cavities, here is a list of dental health complications that may arise if a cavity is left unattended:

• Abscessed tooth.
• Pus-filled and swollen gums around the teeth
• Problems with chewing.
• Broken or damaged teeth.
• Teeth shifting after the loss of the decayed tooth
• Nutritional deficiency
• Appearance affected by missing front and back teeth
• Life-threatening bacteria due to lack of good oral health practices

4. Take Action, and Follow a Plan to Prevent Tooth Decay / Cavities

Here are six helpful tips that you can follow to promote oral health.

1. To clean all of your teeth properly. Typically, your daily plan should include brushing your teeth after every meal or at least two times a day and rinse your mouth with products that contain fluoride.
2. Visit your dentist on a regularly scheduled basis. Then, your dentist can monitor and discover oral health problems early before they become painful and an expensive dental procedure.
3. You may want to consider dental sealants. Based on information published by the CDC, dental sealants tend to be ideal for children who are school age. The primary function of dental sealants is to keep food particles from getting stuck between the teeth.
4. Many people enjoy the convenience of bottled water. However, through this convenience, you can miss certain benefits of drinking tap water. For example, tap water is better for your dental health because it contains fluoride.
5. You should pay close attention to the foods that you eat and the liquids that you drink. Since some foods and beverages can cause havoc to your teeth, you need to know which options are best. For instance, if you want to have pretty white strong teeth for life, you may want to consider ridding sugary foods from your diet.
6. Reduce the plaque and bacteria you have inside your mouth by using an antibacterial mouth wash daily.

Apple Tree Dental is here to help you with your oral care. So give us a call today to book a cleaning and examination.