What Causes Cavities: Know its Prevention and Cure

A cavity is a permanently damaged area on the hard surface of your teeth that develops into tiny holes or openings. Cavities are also known as dental caries or tooth decay. But what causes cavities: Know its prevention and cure.

1. Bacteria in your mouth
2. Frequent snacking
3. Sipping sugary food and drinks and not cleaning your teeth well.

Cavities – also known as tooth decay, are among the world’s most common health problems. This problem is not only for children but also for teenagers and older adults.

This tooth decay can lead to severe toothache, infection, and tooth loss. Younger children have a risk of early childhood tooth decay known as baby bottle tooth decay, which is a serious condition in babies.

Causes

When decay-causing bacterial infection comes into contact with sugary, starchy foods, and drinks, they form acid. This can lead to sharp pain due to the attack of acid on the tooth enamel.

Acid attacks of bacteria will result in the loss of minerals in the enamel. As time passes formation of plaque and cavities starts, thereby weakening and destroying the enamel.

Plaque is the sticky layer of bacteria that forms on teeth. When a person eats sugary foods and drinks, or starchy foods and beverages, the bacteria in the plaque release harmful acids that attack tooth enamel. Plaque or tooth decay can be caused to permanent teeth as well as temporary teeth.

Plaque is a combination of:

• Bacteria
• saliva
• Acid
• Food particles

Some of the people in society are at a higher risk of tooth decay. Risk factors include:

• Eating disorders
• Not getting enough fluoride
• Dry mouth
• Too many sugary foods or acidic food particles
• Acid reflux disease
• Poor oral health
• Receding gums

Cavities develop more often on the back teeth. These teeth have grooves and holes that can trap food particles. Also, these teeth are harder to reach when brushing and flossing.

Symptoms and Signs

Tooth decay symptoms can vary depending on the damage caused to the tooth. Some people in the early stages of the tooth decay process may feel no symptoms, according to the research of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). However, as tooth decay advances, a person may suffer from the following:

• Tooth sensitivity to sugary, hot, or cold foods and drinks
• Constant tooth pain or mouth pain
• Bad breath
• Loose fillings
• White or dark spots on the teeth
• Cavities in teeth
• Food frequently trapped in teeth
• Difficulty biting certain foods
• Bleeding gums or gum diseases
• Facial swelling

Treatments

A regular dental checkup can help the dentist identify cavities. You will also be safe from any other dental problems that might creep up. If a cavity is cured before it starts causing pain, you probably won’t need extensive treatment.

Basically, the treatment of cavities depends on how severe the tooth decay is and the particular situation of the one’s tooth. There are multiple treatments including:

1. Fluoride treatments

If your cavities are at very early stages, fluoride treatments may help to restore your tooth’s enamel and can sometimes reverse a cavity.

Professional fluoride treatment provided by the dentist contains more fluoride. The amount found in tap water, fluoride toothpaste, and mouth rinses is less.

Fluoride treatments may be provided in different types of solutions like liquid, gel, foam, or varnish that run onto your teeth, or are placed in a small tray that fits over your teeth.

2. Dental Fillings

When tooth decay has progressed beyond the earliest stage, the primary treatment is fillings, also called restoration or dental fillings.

These fillings are made up of various materials, like tooth-colored composite resins, porcelain, or dental amalgam.

3. Crowns

There is a custom-made fitted covering that replaces your tooth’s entire natural crowns. It may be made up of gold, high-strength porcelain fused to metal, or other materials.

This treatment is recommended when the tooth decay is extensive, or in case of a weakened tooth.

4. Root canals

When tooth decay reaches the pulp of your tooth (the third layer from the top), you may need a root canal.

A root canal can repair and save a damaged or decayed tooth instead of completely removing the tooth. The pulp, which is diseased, is removed.

After that, the pulp is replaced with an inert filling. Medication is put into the root canal to clear the infection.

5. Tooth extraction

When the tooth is so severely decayed that it can’t be restored, it must be removed. Then the last option is to extract the tooth.

Tooth extraction leaves behind a space or gap that allows your other teeth to shift. If possible, get a bridge or a dental implant to replace the missing tooth.

Dealing with pain

Cavities and tooth decay can cause a lot of pain and discomfort. To deal with sharp pain and discomfort temporarily:

• Keep up your oral hygiene routine – Continue to brush your teeth and clean all parts of your mouth.
• Try over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers – Ask your doctor if you can use OTC anesthetics.
• Keep track of what you eat – Stay away from extreme hot or cold foods when eating or drinking.

Prevention

Tooth decay is a common dental problem. One can reduce your risk by doing the following-

• Brush your teeth at least twice per day with fluoride toothpaste.
• Limit snacking between meals.
• Consider getting dental sealants on your teeth.
• Eat fewer acidic sugary foods like sweets, candy, juice, soda, and refined carbohydrates.
• Floss at least once daily.

These are some of the foods that can help prevent tooth decay:

• Water with fluoride
• Calcium-rich food
• Xylitol sugarless chewing gum
• Unsweetened black or green tea
• Fiber-rich fruits and vegetables

Also, don’t forget to visit your dentist regularly at least twice per year for regular teeth cleanings. This allows you to get treatment for problem for any tooth-related issues and it will also prevent future dental problems. All these precautions help to prevent cavities in the tooth.

Food that causes tooth decay

Tooth decay is the most common chronic illness faced by children aged six to nineteen. These cavities should be controlled and should be diagnosed. This can lead to complications like jaw pain, problems in chewing, and tooth abscesses.

If you don’t floss or brush, there is a good chance you might lose your teeth. Tartar is a disease above the gum line that can lead to gingivitis, which is an early form of gum disease.

Some worst food for teeth, that causes tooth decay-

• Sour candies – Candy causes tooth decay and sour candy contains more and different kinds of acids that are tougher on your teeth.
• Bread – When you chew bread, your saliva breaks down the starchy foods into sugary foods. Then it gets transformed into a gummy paste-like substance, the breadsticks to the crevices between the teeth.
• Alcohol – When you drink alcohol it may lead to a dry mouth, which lacks saliva. Saliva prevents cavities and food from sticking to our teeth and washes away the food particles.
• Carbonated Drinks – Carbonated sodas enable plaque to produce more acid to attack tooth enamel. If you sip soda all day, you are essentially coating your teeth in acid.
• Ice – Hard foods like ice can damage enamel and make you susceptible to dental problems.
• Citrus fruits – Consuming too many fruits and packed food that contains vitamin C. Acid content that is present in the food will lead to enamel erosion. This might accelerate tooth decay.
• Potato chips – Potatoes contain starch that is present in potato chips. This starch will become sugar that can be trapped in and between the teeth. This feeds the bacteria in the plaque.
• Dried fruits – The dried fruits get stuck and cling to the teeth and their services, leaving behind lots of sugar. After eating make sure you rinse your mouth with water, and brush and floss after. Rather than eating dried fruits, eat fresh fruits which are more beneficial for your health as well as for your teeth.

The above types of food catch or develop cavities quickly. Hence, try to monitor what you eat and try to make intelligent food choices that increase saliva flow and saliva production.

When does the cavity reach dentin?

Now, first of all, what is dentin in a tooth? A tooth is made up of four tissues that make up a tooth. One of the four tissues is called dentin. Enamel, cementum, and pulp are the other three. While dentin is strong, it isn’t as solid as enamel.

But when the tooth has eroded the enamel, it starts to erode the dentin underneath. For any kind of pain in your tooth, get to the dentist as quickly as possible. Once the cavity reaches the dentin, it will start to decay more rapidly.

Mostly back teeth catch cavities very easily. The cavities start from the outermost layer to the middle layer and then to the tooth root. As it reaches the root it starts causing root decay. Now, this is a medical condition where we have to treat the particular cavity tooth with certain treatments as listed above.

Conclusion:

Dental cavity or decay is the destruction of a tooth when the teeth are attacked by acid. This acid is made by decay-causing bacteria in your mouth that attack the tooth’s surface or enamel.

This can lead to a slight depression in a tooth called a tooth cavity. Therefore, one needs to know about its prevention, causes, and treatments to stay healthy and fit.

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Proofread by:

Dr. Foram Bhuta

Dentist (B.D.S)

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Last Updated on October 12, 2023 by ibtisam72