Protect Your Teeth, Avoid Tooth Decay

We have spent years eating sweets, drinking sugary soft drinks and even sports drinks; however all those years of delight come with a cost. Some of us took poor care of our teeth when we were young and eating sweets, soft drinks and other junk food have affected our teeth. It is important to understand that there are several factors that can cause tooth decay, but for all these inconveniences there is a solution. First, let’s see what tooth decay is and how we can prevent it; if we have fallen victim of this disease, let’s see what options are available to cure our teeth and restore our smile.

What is Tooth Decay?

Tooth decay is a disease that causes damage to the tooth structure; this can be caused either by an infection or genetics.

All of us enjoy good meals, but sometimes bits of food are left on our teeth; our mouth naturally contains bacteria and when these bits of food meet, dental plaque can be form. Dental plaque then produces an acid; over time, this acid eats away the surface of the tooth, causing caries.

Carries or cavities can be described in two ways:

• Holes in our teeth
• Painful infection in our mouth

Tooth decay is painful and can even hurt you emotionally. Those who have suffered tooth decay, not only don’t enjoy the foods they love or feel harsh pain in their teeth; but also are unable to smile, causing insecurity. Can you prevent this? Yes, yes you can. However if you already have this problem all is not lost; new treatments are available, treatments that will not only fix your teeth but also improve your life.

Preventing Tooth Decay

• Poor Hygiene Practices

Do you floss and brush your teeth daily? Some of us do and some of us don’t; also the ones that do often do it wrong.  To prevent tooth decay, we must improve our dental hygiene practices; using automated toothbrushes is an effective way to improve our dental hygiene. 

• Poor Enamel Formation (Genetics)

Let’s remember that plaque seeks vulnerable areas in our teeth, plaque looks for areas with poor enamel formations. Our genetics here play an important role, if our parents and other relatives have a poor enamel formation, then we will also inherit this problem; to prevent tooth decay or dental caries, we must use fluoride toothpaste, be selective with the food with eat, adjust habits and visit your dentist, I recommend the train professionals at Sani Dental Group.

• Poor Diet/Eating Habits

Foods that contain excessive levels sugar can easily destroy enamel, cause sensitivity in your teeth and increase acid levels that will form plaque.

As we mention previously we need to adjust our eating habits and avoid foods that in the long run will destroy enamel and cause tooth decay. If you need assistance, our dental hygienist can help you evaluate your diet and help you make better choices contact us for more information.

• Medication/Environmental Stress

Many of our readers and patients have lived long and beautiful lives. However is not uncommon that some of them are now forced to take multiple prescriptions; some of these prescriptions inhibit or stop saliva flow. An important fact we must remember is that saliva has natural components that prevent plaque formation; interrupting this process reduces our enamel. If you suffer diabetes, then you could also suffer from dry mouth or (xerostomia) which reduces or stop the flow of saliva.

Do you use or did you used asthma inhalers? Many of our readers did, but what many of them did not know is that asthma inhalers or puffers contain medicine that can damage our teeth enamel. If you or your loved ones are using inhalers and want to avoid tooth decay, rinse your mouth with water immediately after each use of the inhaler. Our dentist can give you more tips.

• Bruxism

Never heard the term? Don’t blame you many of us do this and didn’t even know it had a term. Bruxism is the excessive grinding of the teeth. Bruxism is especially dangerous because most people that brux are unaware of the problem, bruxism has no symptoms and we tend to do it all the time. Tooth grinding strips away the hard outer enamel layer, leaving dentin exposed. Does who brux fall victims of tooth decay; but solutions are available, for example, your dentist can recommend a bite guard to protect your teeth as well as other recommendations.

Restore Your Smile

Tooth Decay is a problem and we can all fall, victims of it, we just read 5 reason tooth decay occurs, ways to prevent it, but what happens if you have fallen victim of tooth decay? Sani Dental Group is the solution; tooth filings are available in Sani Dental and at a fraction of the cost of these treatments in the U.S. or Canada. Our highly trained professionals can match the color of your teeth, making it virtually impossible to see the difference. In Sani Dental we don’t just fix your teeth, we improve your life.