You may have been hearing about cavities for your entire life. When you were young, your mom may have cautioned you to brush your teeth or else you would get a cavity. You may have had a dentist caution you about cavities. Although you have heard talk about cavities throughout your lifetime, you may not know what cavities are. Keep reading for a simple explanation.
What Are Cavities?
Cavities represent the outward sign of a problem with your tooth. The word cavity means hole, so you could say you have a hole in one of your teeth. Cavities begin as acids that bacteria cause inside your mouth. You have bacteria that are always present in your mouth to help with food digestion and absorption. While a little bacteria is a good thing, a lot of bacteria is not. If you brush and floss daily, you lower the amount of bacteria in your mouth, which cuts down on the chances you will have a cavity. However, if you let the bacteria multiply in your mouth, the acids in the bacteria can begin to dissolve the protective coating of your tooth, called enamel. The acids in bacteria will continue to eat away at your tooth until there is a hole.
Cavity Treatment
If you do not know you have a cavity, a dentist will be able to see it on an x-ray or during your dental exam. Shallow cavities can be filled easily and quickly. A dentist drills the cavity out and fixes the hole with a filling that matches your tooth color, so your worries will be over. However, if you do not visit the dentist regularly, your cavity can continue to grow until it reaches the middle, or pulp, of your tooth. That is when you will experience pain from a tooth infection.
Luckily, if you brush and floss regularly and you visit a dentist twice a year, the chances you will have a cavity are minor. If you think that you may have a cavity, contact our dental office today.
Location
Northview Family Dental 1121 E. Westview Ct. Spokane, WA 99218-1319
You may have been hearing about cavities for your entire life. When you were young, your mom may have cautioned you to brush your teeth or else you would get a cavity. You may have had a dentist caution you about cavities. Although you have heard talk about cavities throughout your lifetime, you may not know what cavities are. Keep reading for a simple explanation.