Cavity Expert…Here You Come! Understand and Prevent!
What exactly is a cavity? Is that black dot on my tooth a cavity? Will my tooth hurt when I have a cavity?
All of these answers and more are right here for you.
Also known as “decay” or “dental caries,” a cavity happens like this:
We have white, mushy clumps of live bacteria in our mouths. You know, the white stuff that you can scrape off with your fingernail? The rough, dirty, “sweater-like” feeling that you have on your teeth when you run your tongue over them? That’s the stuff. That is live bacteria.
This bacteria is responsible for what goes wrong in your mouth. It is responsible for cavities, bleeding gums, and eating your bone away. This is the bone that holds your teeth in your head!!!
It’s, therefore, so important to keep the bacteria OUT of your mouth with regular flossing and brushing.
Here is a good analogy that we use often. It helps give patients a more straight-forward visual of the process that is happening in their mouth:
The sticky, white, mushy, live bacteria eats the food that you eat and then pretty much pukes and poops on your teeth. It secretes acid into your mouth.
This ”acidic poop” eats holes in your teeth. Those holes are what we call a cavity.
The acid also eats away at our gums, causing them to swell and bleed. This is what we call gingivitis or gum disease.
If we don’t get control of the gingivitis, that disease will travel into the bone underneath the gums. There, this acid eats at your bone. THIS is what we call Periodontitis.
Though it’s a pretty gross visual, that is sort of our intention. We hope this analogy create a better, more motivating picture for everyone of what truly goes on in our mouths. :)
But why doesn’t everyone get cavities?! It’s not fair!
As we often like to say, “It’s all your parents’ fault.” Genetics definitely play a very strong role in our mouths.
Some people have a type of bacteria that likes to eat their teeth, causing cavities.
While other people have a type of bacteria that likes to eat their gum and bone, causing Gingivitis and Periodontitis.
Then sadly, there’s a group of people out there who have the genetic curse of both. This isn’t as common as you would think, though. Most people lean towards one or the other.
It has sooooo much to do with genetics.
The great news is this:
In all instances, you have the power to control it.
YOU have the POWER to have very limited dental work in your lifetime.
This is exactly why toothbrushes and floss were invented.
You need to physically brush the plaque off of your teeth, outsides and insides, with your toothbrush. But, this still leaves plaque in your mouth. You ALSO have to scrape it off the places in between with the floss.
If we don’t do both, the plaque stays in our mouth, and the problems become inevitable. That plaque will eat at our teeth, gums, or bone.
Unfortunately, using mouthwash doesn’t replace brushing and flossing.
Mouthwash only helps AFTER you brush and floss the majority of the plaque off first. Once you do, though, mouthwash can help greatly in the world of gingivitis and cavities.
Be sure to click the mouthwash link to learn about the different types of mouthwash and which type is right for you.
So if I see a black dot on my tooth, is that a cavity?
Maybe, but most likely not.
Cavities, in their early and active stage, are not black or brown. They are tooth-colored.
Dental professionals find cavities as we are looking and cleaning around your mouth with our instruments.
If we fall into a little hole, we push on it to see if it feels “mushy.”
Some “high-tech” offices have a cavity detecting machine that tests the pH of the area to see if decay is active. In a nutshell, though, the decay is mushy feeling and detectable or it isn’t. We don’t really need a machine.
Natural, healthy tooth structure feels like glass as we are going around. A cavity feels like drywall, or wet wood, and it will grab our instrument when we poke into it. Our instrument will STICK into the cavity.
Usually, those black spots that you are seeing are natural pits that have become stained by coffee, tea, red wine etc., OR they are old cavities that have stopped themselves for the time being.
Cavities that have “stopped themselves” is something we call “arrested decay.” It’s now a weaker area that can develop a cavity more easily. For now, though, your body did a good job of stopping the cavity itself.
It’s still important to have your honest dentist check the area regularly to be sure it has stopped completely.
Cavities can stop themselves?!!!
It doesn’t happen on a regular basis, but yes, it happens.
If you start to get a small cavity that hasn’t broken through the enamel layer yet and hasn’t entered into the dentin layer of your tooth structure underneath, then you and your body have the ability to try and stop it.
You have the ability to floss and brush like crazy, and put some extra fluoride mouthwash or prescription fluoride on the area. Your natural saliva, combined with extra fluoride, is the perfect duo to try and get a SMALL cavity to stop on it’s own. Remember, it has to be small. This only has a chance of working if the cavity has not broken through the enamel layer.
Yes, your own saliva is a natural defense mechanism for you too. It shoots minerals into the plaque to kill it. It also shoots something called hydroxyapatite onto your teeth to help remineralize the enamel. Much of the time, this causes the decayed area to turn that dark brown color.
There is an amazing toothpaste out there that has a greater amount of fluoride, xylitol, AND hydroxyapatite in it! It’s a genius product. Ask your honest dentist what he/she thinks about CariFree CTx4 toothpaste. We think it’s great. Ask them to compare it to Prevident, and they’ll know what you’re talking about. You can only get the prescription grade version through your dentist.
What if I don’t believe in using fluoride?
If you don’t like fluoride, we understand your concern. There are conflicting opinions on it for sure. Without debate, we fall on the middle ground with this one.
We believe that humans shouldn’t CONSUME large amounts of fluoride. There are plenty of articles out there to read which talk about fluoride’s possible side effects and concerns.
We have personally observed fluoride’s undeniable effectiveness when applied TOPICALLY to the teeth. By topically, we mean that it is placed ON your teeth only, without swallowing it, using a toothpaste, mouthwash, etc.
We have also observed that the small amount of fluoride (no more than 1 part per million), which is naturally present and/or added into most of our local drinking water, is helpful to strengthen childrens’ teeth while they are forming. When consumed in this small amount during childhood, fluoride makes teeth stronger and more resistant to decay later in life. Once these teeth have erupted, or are “all the way in,” only topical fluoride is effective from then on.
If a child EATS toothpaste or swallows too much fluoride mouthwash, though, something called fluorosis can occur.
Fluorosis is the presence of permanent white marks on the teeth. The white areas are often WEAKER spots that are more prone to decay.
So, it’s important to watch children. Be sure they don’t love their toothpaste or mouthwash too much, or grow up in an area with more than 1 part per million of fluoride in the drinking water.
So, it’s best to weigh our pros and cons with fluoride. The key words to remember are “small amounts.” Moderation proves to be key in the end as always, rather than extremes.
We advise that parents try to stay open-minded on the possibility of using a little bit of fluoride to help the teeth.
Nothing hurts in my mouth, so I must not have a cavity!
This is not true, not true at all…
So much of the time, patients feel NO sensitivity at the start of their cavities. In fact, much of the time, patients can have larger cavities and STILL have no sensitivity. Everyone is different.
Our older AND younger population of people tend to NOT have as much tooth sensitivity. They can have much larger decay with no sensitivity symptoms. Nature is amazing and has its ways of helping us through.
BUT….This is why it’s extremely important to find your honest dentist and then have your teeth cleaned and checked on a regular basis to assure that you and your family are maintaining your dental health.
The goal is to find cavities early on, before they hurt, and before they grow larger and larger.
Well, can’t I just wait until it hurts to get the cavity fixed?
Noooooo! Please believe us, this is the worst idea ever.
“The best dentistry is NO dentistry,” yes. But, if you have a cavity, YOU HAVE A CAVITY. You need to get it fixed, or it will just keep eating away at the tooth…until there is not enough of the tooth left to fix!
If you need to have dental work done, the best dentistry is very LITTLE bits of dentistry. So it’s much better and much SMARTER to get small fillings in your mouth, rather than allow a cavity to grow and continue to eat a larger hole in your tooth.
The larger the decay, the LARGER the filling.
The larger the decay, the higher the chance that you will need a crown because a filling won’t be enough to fix the problem anymore.
The larger the decay, the higher the chances are that you may need a root canal. If the decay has eaten all the way into the middle of the tooth and has reached the “canal of the root,” a root canal is exactly what will be needed. When you have a root canal, you’ll need to get a crown next. The crown is needed to keep the tooth strong because, without the nerve, the tooth dies and becomes brittle…….$$$
AND finally… the larger the decay, the higher the chances are that the tooth can’t be saved at all. The larger the decay, the higher the chances that you will need an extraction. Extractions leave you with spaces to fill. Those spaces cost you more money and more dental visits. Now you’re talking about an implant. See the pattern here?
Please don’t let your cavities get BIG.
The more fillings and crowns you have, the more likely you are to have MORE fillings and crowns down the road.
The larger the fillings you get, the more chances you have of cracking the teeth later. The filling material expands and contracts differently than your tooth does, and the remaining part of your tooth is weakened when a large filling is placed.
The more crowns you have, the more “shelves” that are created that hold more bacteria. These “shelves” are created by the edge of the crown around your tooth, and now need to be “dusted” (cleaned) more than normal tooth structure would. If they don’t get “dusted,” cavities are likely to form at the edge of the crown…
Yes, there is still room to get a cavity under a crown. Plenty of room. The only teeth that don’t get cavities are implants because they have zero natural structure.
Can you see why it’s better to try and stay on top of the health of your teeth? Keep dentistry at a minimum, as much as you can. Keep your teeth in their natural state as best you can.
So what Tooth pain will I feel? What WOULD indicate that I may have a cavity?
1. When your tooth hurts to sweets, like candy:
This is usually a pretty good indicator that you could have a cavity. BUT…this can sometimes just mean that some gum recession/root exposure is reacting to the sugar, or that you are clenching your teeth due to stress, chronic pain, etc. Find your honest dentist and have this sensitivity checked out.
2. When your tooth hurts to cold things:
Teeth hurting to cold is actually a common and normal sensitivity that can truly mean nothing. Cold sensitivity is common with sinus problems, with stress, with clenching and grinding our teeth, with brushing too hard, with bleaching, etc. If this is the case, it usually comes and goes as those conditions in your life come and go. It’s always best to double-check with your honest dentist, though.
BUT, when a SINGLE tooth hurts to cold consistently, when it lingers for minutes after you initially trigger it, when it doesn’t go away within a few weeks, or when it “talks to you” on a regular basis… this is something you should definitely have checked out by your honest dentist.
3. If your tooth hurts to WARM or HOT things:
This is a bigger one….
Teeth hurting to warm or hot stimuli usually signals the need for a root canal. This usually indicates that a MUCH LARGER cavity has been allowed to grow or that your tooth has cracked. Definitely make an appointment with your honest dentist to have this tooth checked! It’s important and is very unlikely to get better without treatment.
***Root canals are not scary like the old stories tell. I’ve had two myself, and they’re actually kind of peaceful! Click to read more about them.
4. Tooth pain that LINGERS for minutes or longer after being trigger by temperature or after biting down:
Lingering pain also usually signals a larger issue that may require a root canal. It can also mean that your tooth may have cracked. Schedule that appointment with your honest dentist without delay. It’s important.
5. Tooth pain that aches on its own, without stimulating it at all:
A flat-out-achey tooth is not a good sign. This, too, could mean that a root canal is in your future, that your tooth has cracked, or that you have a periodontal infection. Go see your honest dentist as soon as you can.
Ask yourself if the ache is the actual tooth or if it may be coming from the gums, though. There is also the possibility that it’s not a tooth at all. Maybe you have a popcorn kernel or another type of food impaction going on there. Your gums are usually inflamed in the area if this is the problem.
If you have trouble removing the food, try using an interdental “christmas tree” brush, or you can try tying a knot in your floss.
To do this: Tie the knot on one end of the floss. Put the floss in between your teeth as usual, and then pull the floss out to the side, allowing the knot to grab the food and pull it out in the process.
So there you have it! We hope this answered all of your cavity questions and left you with a little bit of extra info as well!!! If not, please leave a question or comment below, and we’ll do our best to help! Our patients have maintained beautifully, following our conservative recommendations :)
Though it would be best if we did, we’ll never claim to know it all, all of the time. Nobody knows it all! We do claim honesty, though, and we sincerely want to help as many people as we can! Remember, we cannot diagnose you from cyberspace. You’ll have to go see your honest dentist.
Thanks so much for reading and letting us spill our SODA! Remember to take the time to find your HONEST DENTIST, and be sure to browse around our links and follow us on social media for answers to more of your exciting dental questions, like:
