Causes, prevention and treatment of dental caries

Dental caries is actually a common oral disease. Although the disease will not cause huge negative effects on the human body, it can cause frequent tooth pain, thus bringing many inconveniences to the patient's daily life and diet. However, as long as you choose the correct prevention methods and treatment methods for dental caries, you can effectively solve the problems it brings.

1. What is dental caries?

Dental caries, commonly known as tooth decay or tooth decay, is a disease in which teeth are gradually destroyed by a variety of factors dominated by bacteria. Dental caries are distributed all over the world and are the key cause of oral pain and tooth loss. It is understood that the formation of dental caries is a long process, usually taking 1.5 to 2 years. Even if cariogenic bacteria, a suitable environment and a susceptible host are present, dental caries will not occur immediately. Only when the above three factors exist at the same time for a considerable period of time can dental caries occur.

2. What are the causes of tooth decay?

1. Not paying attention to oral hygiene

The occurrence of dental caries is related to oral hygiene habits, especially those who do not brush their teeth in the morning and evening or use improper brushing methods are more likely to be troubled by dental caries. Due to infrequent oral cleaning, brushing teeth or improper brushing methods, food residues are easily left on the teeth. If these food residues are impacted for a long time, they will easily breed a large number of bacteria, leading to corruption and acid production, which may eventually cause tooth decay.

2. Improper diet

Improper diet is an important cause of tooth decay. People who like to eat sweets and drink carbonated drinks are more likely to get tooth decay. Especially for people who drink carbonated drinks, it is easy to cause tooth decalcification and eventually form tooth decay. However, the probability of some people who often eat fiber foods will be reduced because fiber foods need to be chewed many times, which has the effect of scrubbing and cleaning teeth.

3. Crooked teeth

The reason why people with crooked teeth are prone to tooth decay is that food residues on the teeth are difficult to clean, which triggers oral bacteria to produce acid, making them more susceptible to tooth decay.

4. Poor physical condition

The health of teeth also indirectly reflects the health of the body. Conversely, if a person has poor physical fitness and malnutrition, it will also affect the teeth, and the probability of suffering from caries will be higher.

3. Prevention measures for dental caries

1. Brush your teeth regularly every day

Brush your teeth at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Use a gingival brush head and brush your teeth for at least two minutes to ensure that every detail of the teeth is fully cleaned.

2. Scientifically choose fluoride toothpaste

This is because the substances in fluoride toothpaste can improve the teeth's own resistance and minimize the probability of tooth decay. However, extra attention should be paid to the appropriate amount of toothpaste each time you brush your teeth, and the toothpaste should not be swallowed.

3. Use dental floss regularly to clean the gaps between teeth

Simply brushing your teeth cannot clean the spaces between teeth, so patients should develop the habit of flossing after eating to effectively remove bacteria and debris between teeth and prevent the formation of caries.

4. Develop scientific and reasonable eating habits

Try to reduce the overall intake of sugar, fat and carbonated drinks, and avoid excessive consumption of candy, snacks, etc. In terms of diet structure, ensure a balanced diet and consume more foods rich in calcium and vitamins to enhance physical fitness and protect teeth, such as: dairy products, fresh vegetables and fruits.

5. Go to the hospital for regular oral examinations

This is because dental diseases have no obvious clinical symptoms in the early stages of the disease, so they are easily ignored by patients. When dental discomfort is felt, the disease has usually developed to the middle or late stages. Therefore, if patients want to ensure dental health and prevent tooth decay, they need to go to the hospital regularly for oral examinations and teeth cleaning. Once abnormal symptoms are found, oral problems can be dealt with in a timely manner, fundamentally ensuring oral health and preventing tooth decay.

3. Key points for dental caries treatment

1. Drug treatment

In the process of treating dental caries, patients with milder conditions can use local medications to treat the disease, so that the teeth can recover quickly. For example: fluoride coatings, silver nitrate, the above drugs can effectively remove bacteria in the teeth and promote the remineralization of the teeth.

2. Root canal treatment

For more serious caries, root canal treatment is required. The doctor must first remove the patient's pulp and disinfect the root canal. Then, he uses professional filling materials to fill the caries holes and finally repairs the structure of the tooth crown.

3. Filling treatment

For teeth with deep caries holes, filling treatment is required. First, the doctor must thoroughly remove the damaged tooth structure and tissue, and select suitable filling materials, such as composite resin, glass ionomer, etc. Effectively fill the tooth cavity to restore the external shape and basic function of the tooth.

(IV) Removal

If the patient's tooth decay is very serious and can no longer be treated by repair, the tooth will need to be extracted. After the tooth is extracted, the patient can also choose to implant a fixed bridge or removable denture for repair.

The above is the popular science knowledge about dental caries. In life, once you find small black spots, black lines, etc. on your teeth, you must treat them as soon as possible to avoid delaying and missing the best treatment period.

Author of this article: Chen Ling, Department of Stomatology, Guangxi International Zhuang Medicine Hospital