Part I introduced you to the key players involved in tooth decay and touched on the importance of maintaining a neutral pH level inside the mouth. This next part will elaborate on pH balance, the different types of cavities and what you can do to prevent tooth decay.

You’d never have to worry about tooth decay if you didn’t eat. Of course, you wouldn’t have to worry about much because you would die. But eat we do, every day, and the foods we choose aren’t always the best.

When we eat carbohydrates, the body breaks them down into sugars including sucrose, fructose, maltose, dextrose and glucose. Fermentable carbohydrates actually begin breaking down in the mouth (as opposed to the digestive tract where other foods begin the process). If you eat cookies, cake, chips, crackers, candy, sugary drinks and cereal you are eating fermentable carbohydrates.

When the sugars in these foods interact with the bacteria in the mouth, acids are produced. Acids are what cause a drop in pH level. When pH drops to 5.5 or lower, the drop causes the minerals inside the teeth to start dissolving. This is demineralization.

This loss of minerals weakens teeth. The damage will continue for as long as pH is at or lower than 5.5. Remember brushing teeth returns pH to a neutral level, between 6.2 and 7.0 which is why brushing is so important in preventing tooth decay. Some of the bacteria inside your mouth love sugar so as long as sugar is present, these bacteria keep producing more and more acid.

Tooth decay begins inside the tooth, as demineralization takes hold. Remineralization from fluoride and saliva can defend against decay at this early stage. If left untreated though, the spot where the decay began grows. Once the decay spreads through to the enamel, the damage cannot be reversed. You’ve now got a cavity.

With a break in the enamel, food particles can get inside the tooth and cause pain. That’s when you’ll show up at the dentist begging for help. The dentist will clear away the debris and decay and fill the cavity. If you don’t get the cavity filled, the decay can spread into the dentin and even to the pulp and the nerves.

Acute caries (the proper term for cavity) develop quickly, in just a few months. Children whose enamel tends to be weaker and young adults are more prone to acute carries. Chronic carries take longer to progress, and sometimes don’t progress much at all. Older individuals are more prone to this type of cavity. When decay forms in the roots, root caries develop and they too are more common in older individuals. When decay continues to form even after a cavity has been filled or a crown has been put into place, that is called recurring decay.

Only you can prevent cavities and it’s not that hard if you brush and floss regularly to remove bacteria, drink fluorinated water, seal the teeth that are most vulnerable, and limit your intake of fermentable carbohydrates. 

Related posts:

1. Everything You Need to Know About Cavities – Part I
2. Food and Your Teeth
3. Good Nutrition Is Not Just For The Body: The Relationship Of Nutrition And Dental Health
4. Fluoride and Your Teeth
5. The Importance of Dental Care

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