FIve Most Common Causes of teeth Cavities

No one likes cavities. They can be painful, unsightly, and expensive. They can interfere with eating, and lead to tooth loss. It is a common affliction, affecting people of all ages, races and nationalities. As inconvenient as these unwelcome oral intrusions can be, they are not unavoidable. You will learn the most common causes of cavities and how to prevent them.

Cavities are a result of tooth-decay, which happens when acidic bacteria eats away at the protective enamel covering healthy teeth. This happens after meals when the sugar in foods continues to gnaw away, so to speak, at your teeth. If you do not brush post-eating regularly, you run the risk of allowing this substance free reign on your pearly whites. Flossing, brushing and gargling will help remove the pesky sugars from teeth and aid in reducing the amount of corrosive chemicals consistently attacking your enamel, but there is a method to that madness, as well. Brushing immediately after eating can also attack your enamel. It is more effective to instead, wait up to half an hour before using a toothbrush, and to gargle to rinse the offending elements from teeth.

Sugars actually feed the bacteria that then excretes the anti-smile acid. Sugar goes to the bacteria, then the bacteria makes the acid, unless, that is, you bypass the bacteria and just eat acidic foods. Seafood, citrus fruits, carbonated drinks and other high-acid foods actually expedite the process. Instead of bacteria producing the acid, the acid in these meals actually do the corroding own its own. So be sure to monitor the amount of these foods you take in, as well as the timing of these meals. Sleeping it off is NOT a good thing when it comes to acid and teeth. Try to avoid these acidic meals close to bedtime. Your dental physician can also recommend substitutes to these foods if you are stubbornly in love with certain flavors and/or taste combinations.

It may seem redundant at this point but oral hygiene is the most prominent factor in assessing risk of cavities. Obviously those with responsible, consistent habits when it comes to cleaning “mouth” will experience fewer problems with their molars and canines than those who take a lackadaisical approach to oral hygiene. Floss is very effective in removing bits of food in hard to reach places which can wreak havoc on your precious, irreplaceable enamel. Avoid flavored floss which contains, you guessed it, sugars. Finally, mouthwash is an invaluable tool to flush out your mouth. The fluid cleaner will reach even more areas than floss, and the chemicals in mouthwash serve to actually kill acid producing bacteria, as opposed to simply removing it.

Gum disease,or gingivitis, another leading contributor to cavities, just may be passed down from generation to generation. Check with your parents, and discuss their dental history with your dental physician to create a specific plan to maintain your teeth at their peak performance.

If you smoke, drink or use other illegal drugs, you run a higher risk of tooth decay than non-users. Take this into consideration before your “night-cap.” Alcohol, for example contains a ton of sugar, which we already know is no friend of teeth.

With this baseline of information, and diligent attention to your oral hygiene, along with regular visits to your personal dental physician, you can keep your pearly whites brilliantly shining and strong.