Tooth decay is also called dental caries and is one of the most widespread and oldest diseases globally. It is an infectious disease that damages teeth, eventually causing cavities. Caries is usually treated by drilling and filling the tooth. Without treatment, dental caries can cause severe toothache and will eventually lead to tooth loss. While tooth decay is inconvenient at best, it can impact overall quality-of-life, your diet and speech and general sense of well-being. Although a common problem, tooth decay is preventable.

Your mouth is a remarkable environment and is an ecosystem that is loaded with bacteria. Did you know a single mouth contains more bacteria than people who have ever existed on earth? Luckily, many of these bacteria are benign or helpful, but others can cause dental caries. These more harmful bacteria are found in dental plaque, a sticky biofilm that forms over tooth surfaces between your regular toothbrushing and flossing. When you eat something sugary or starchy, these bacteria break down these sugars for their use, producing acid as a byproduct.

Usually, the saliva in your mouth helps maintain a normal pH, but the acid produced by bacteria reduces the pH level, which has the effect of softening your tooth enamel, the hard, outer coating protecting your teeth. It’s a process known as demineralization, where calcium and phosphate are removed from the tooth surfaces. After about half an hour, your mouth becomes less acidic, prompting a process called remineralization where some of the calcium and phosphate contained in your saliva is redeposited back into your tooth enamel.

Part of the key to maintaining strong, healthy and cavity-free teeth, and avoiding dental fillings in Clarington, is maintaining this balance between demineralization and remineralization. When there is an imbalance, and your teeth are exposed to acids more frequently, your tooth decay risk can increase. Not everyone has the same level of risk for developing tooth decay, which can change each day. However, some simple strategies can reduce your risk of tooth decay.

Protecting Your Teeth

A good daily oral care routine will help tremendously. Brushing your teeth twice daily and making sure you floss once a day removes most dental plaque, and with it, most of the harmful bacteria. However, even the most diligent tooth brusher and flosser will miss out on some areas of their mouth. When this happens, dental plaque hardens into calculus or tartar within a day or two. Calculus is too hard to remove by brushing and flossing and instead must be removed during your professional dental cleaning in Courtice. It is part of the reason why your regular checkups and cleans here at West Bowmanville Family Dental are so important.

When you regularly see us, our dentist can assess your teeth carefully, checking for any soft spots or tiny lesions in your teeth that could indicate the first signs of caries. If we do spot any signs, we can provide treatment more easily and quickly while preserving more of your natural tooth. Another thing we can do is discuss your diet.

Your food choices and especially you time you eat certain foods can affect your risk of tooth decay. Trying to cut out all sugary foods is not always practical but choosing to eat these foods as part of the main meal is often an option. When you enjoy a sweet treat during the main meal, your mouth is acidic for less time than if you were to snack between meals. In contrast, snacking between meals increases the time your mouth remains more acidic, damaging your teeth and increasing your risk of cavities.