Tooth Decay: Ouch! My Tooth Hurts!

We commonly hear these words from children. Most likely, the culprit here is tooth decay. Not only children have this ailment, though. Teens and adults alike can also have tooth decay if proper dental care is not done. But how does tooth decay happen? How can one prevent it?

Every time one eats foods that contain sugars and starches like candies, cakes, cola, milk, and other carbohydrate rich foods, some traces are left on the teeth.

Certain bacteria, such as mutans streptococci and lactobacilli, thrive in dental plaque (or bacterial colonies) and utilize the sugars in the food traces as their own source of food. Digesting the sugars create acids as waste product. And these acids, especially lactic acid, eat up the mineral content of the tooth.

The acids produced in the digestion of sugar are either diluted, washed away in the mouth, or seep in the tooth's surface. When dental plaque is present on the tooth's surface, the acids penetrate it.

Since the plaque acts as covering or protective layer, the acids tend to stay longer on the tooth's surface causing demineralization of the enamel and dentin.

The amount of demineralization also depends on the age of the plaque and the amount of acid. The older the plaque on the tooth, the more demineralization occurs. The rate of demineralization varies, thus, tooth cavity can take months or years to form. Cavity, or hole, is the physical manifestation of tooth decay.

Tooth decay starts from the tooth's enamel and seeps its way into the dentin which is a softer tissue than the enamel. Once it reaches the dentin, it can now easily destroy the pulp where the cells, blood vessels, and nerves are contained. Once this happens, pain is now felt. Tooth ache will be felt until proper remedy is taken.

If tooth decay is not treated immediately, the affected tooth may die. Thus, it should be treated right away. Better yet, prevent tooth decay from occurring through proper dental care. As the saying goes, "prevention is better than cure."

Since the root cause of tooth decay lies on the type of food being taken, one may want to try limiting sugary food intake. Instead of sugar, artificial sweetener may be used instead. After eating sweet foods, or any food for that matter, it is advised to brush the teeth as soon as possible. If this is not possible, the mouth should be rinsed, at least, to remove traces of sugar from the teeth.

Brushing and flossing at least twice a day is recommended to prevent plaque buildup that traps the acids in the teeth. It is best to use fluoride toothpaste when brushing. Fluoride can have large effects in preventing tooth decay.

Fluoride helps in remineralization or the process of restoring lost minerals, makes teeth more decay resistant, and can slow down the bacteria's ability to create acids that eats the teeth's minerals. However, there should not be an overdose of fluoride as it also has some negative effects to one's health. Brushing twice a day should be enough.

These preventive measures are relatively easy to do and these are actually part of one's daily routine. Thus, it should not be difficult for anyone to prevent the tooth from decaying.

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