Nine out of ten adults have cavities. Do you know the secret?

Let me ask you a question first. Do you have cavities? If you have cavities, please raise your hand.

The dental caries rate among adults in my country reaches 88.1%, which means that nine out of ten people suffer from dental caries.

Wood will rot, teeth will decay

Our teeth are like wood, they will decay if not maintained properly over time. Look at the teeth below, the black and yellow parts are the decayed parts.

Does “caries” mean that there are worms in the teeth?

The professional term for tooth decay is "caries". The word "caries" in oracle bone script is composed of a pair of teeth and a worm, so people originally thought that tooth decay was caused by worms. Even now, many people still think so.

So, how does dental caries occur? Who is the initiator of dental caries? It is this bacterium holding a hammer, which intends to make a hole in the tooth.

The outside and inside of teeth?

In order to better understand the process of caries, let us first understand the basic knowledge of teeth.

This is what we see teeth from the outside. Teeth are divided into two parts: the crown and the root. The junction between the two is the neck of the tooth. Usually what we see in the mouth is the crown. The neck of the tooth is covered by the gums, while the root is buried in the bone. This is the surface of one of the large teeth. You can see that the surface is uneven and there are many pits and grooves.

So what does the inside of a tooth look like?

The white, translucent structure on the outermost layer of the crown is called enamel. It is the hardest of all tooth tissues, second only to diamond in hardness. It wraps around the entire crown like a diamond armor, protecting the internal tissues of the tooth. Inside the enamel and cementum is the dentin, which constitutes the main body of the tooth. The dentin is light yellow in color. The above three types are all hard tissues, which wrap around the innermost pulp cavity layer by layer. The pulp cavity contains nerves and blood vessels. This is what ordinary people commonly call the dental nerve.

What is the culprit for dental caries?

The culprits of tooth decay are bacteria on the surface of teeth. They gather together to form a community, which we call "dental plaque". This is the surface of the tooth under a microscope, covered with bacteria.

When you eat sweets, the bacteria in your mouth start to work, fermenting the sugar to produce acid. Under the action of acid, the surface of your teeth will be corroded and damaged.

Therefore, the culprit of dental caries is actually composed of four parts. The pits and grooves on the surface of the teeth are not easy to clean, and dental plaque accumulates in these places. After eating sweets, especially those that are very sticky to the teeth, they will also remain on the surface of the teeth. With sugar, bacteria begin to produce acid to damage the teeth. Over time, dental cavities are formed, and if not treated in time, they will become larger and deeper.

Different stages of dental caries

The formation of caries is a relatively slow process. According to the depth of caries, we divide it into three different stages: shallow caries, medium caries and deep caries. Different stages have different symptoms.

If it doesn't hurt, it's because the damage is not deep enough.

When the enamel is continuously damaged and corroded, superficial damage will slowly form. Shallow caries may be black pits and fissures or very small caries holes, or it may just appear as white patches. At this time, it is often difficult to attract people's attention because the tooth damage is small and there are no obvious symptoms. Then the caries holes gradually expand and enter the dentin to form larger caries holes. At this time, food will get stuck in the holes, and you may feel pain after eating sweets. When deep caries are formed in the deep dentin, the symptoms are more obvious, and you will feel pain when you are stimulated by cold or heat. The tooth in the picture has a wide range of damage, and the entire tooth surface has turned black.

When caries affects the pulp

What will happen if deep caries develop further? When caries affects the dental nerve, it will cause inflammation of the dental nerve and the root of the tooth, which we call pulpitis and apical periodontitis. At this time, the pain will be more severe, the situation will be more serious, and the treatment will become more complicated. Therefore, "small holes are not fixed, big holes will suffer", and you should go to the hospital for examination as soon as you find caries.

What to do if your teeth are decayed?

So what should you do if your teeth are damaged?

Once you find a cavity on your tooth, you must go to the hospital for a checkup as soon as possible. Don't wait until your tooth hurts before you go to the hospital. If it is just a simple cavity, it can usually be filled in one go. If it reaches the point where the dental nerve is inflamed, you will need root canal treatment, which is what ordinary people often call "nerve extraction." Those who have had nerve extractions know that you have to go back and forth several times, and the treatment is very troublesome and costs a lot of money. Therefore, "small holes are not filled, and big holes are suffering." If you have a cavity, go to the hospital immediately.