CAVITIES? WHAT NOW?

DO YOU HAVE CAVITIES? WHAT ARE THESE?

"Half knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance"

We all have seen television commercials explaining cavities on teeth. Well yes, some of it is true but yet incomplete. Food entrapment between teeth or deposited around teeth has been one of the most common problems faced by a common man since a very long time. We feel like why this happens because it creates difficulties while maintaining oral hygiene. Well, even strong material like cement needs a foundation to set, it cannot remain hard and set on smooth flat surfaces. Same goes with the tooth. There might be something below the entrapped food that has helped the food to settle down there. There are small spaces where the food gets stuck up. These tiny spaces are called cavities.

Cavities are permanently damaged areas on hard surfaces of your tooth that develop into tiny holes or openings. The white shiny enamel of our tooth somewhat gets repaired by using minerals from our saliva or fluoride from our toothpaste. But what if the tooth damages are far more than tooth repairing procedures? That is when the cavities form.

HOW DO THESE CAVITIES FORM?

Cavity formation is a combination of many factors. Inability to maintain good oral hygiene, bacterial accumulation over the tooth, eating sugary food, frequent snacking are some of them. What more damaging is ignoring cleanliness of teeth after meals. Because cavities don't occur overnight. It is a process involving may weeks and even months, possibly years. Or if there is an already existing carious tooth, it becomes easier for caries to spread on other teeth forming cavities. Also, a dry mouth invites cavity formation since natural cleaning of teeth by saliva is reduced. Since initially the cavity is small and painless, we tend to ignore it.

HOW DO THESE CAVITIES LOOK?

Cavity formation process is a long one. It starts with occurrence of tiny white spots on your teeth which is easily distinguishable from other healthy surface. Slowly and steadily the spots get converted into brown/black colored large spots. As tooth gets even more weaker, the surface chips off in small pieces creating cavities. A big discontinuity in surface of a tooth just like potholes on roads is nothing but a cavity.

"Cavities are like potholes on roads. They get bigger with time!"