Education - Below we offer a general look at some common dental problems and terms. When you come into our office for a visit we provide digital dental information via computer screen for your viewing in each room. You may ask your dental assistant to print out any dental subject to read later on.

Index

TARTAR TOOTH DECAY CAVITIES BAD BREATH GINGIVITIS

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General Education Information - Mouth and teeth problems are most of the time related to negligence. These problems will cause you physical pain and will affect your appearance. The majority of these problems are related to Dental Plaque (a film of mucus harboring bacteria on a tooth). The problems that we encounter the most are: Tartar, Tooth Decay, Cavities, Bad breath and Gingivitis.

Tartar - Tartar/Calculus is a hard, pale, brittle substance formed on the tooth by precipitation of calcium phosphate from saliva onto plaque. It is strongly attached to the teeth and is not easy to get rid of. Once you get it, brushing or cleaning the teeth won't make any difference; only a doctor can remove them. Calculus above the gum margin (supra-gingival calculus) is very common and not normally a problem. The rarer form of tartar is known as sub-gingival calculus. It generally occurs because harbors plaque under the gum margin prevents it (the gum margin) from being brushed.

Tooth Decay - It's one of the most common human diseases. When food interacts with the plaque, the plaque bacteria produces acid, especially when there is sugar in the food because sugar causes tooth decay.

There are different stages in the formation of a tooth decay. The first sign of tooth decay is the apparition of white spots on the enamel. Those spots are caused by the loss of calcium.

The second sign is the growth of the lesion and the formation of a cavity. It happens when the demineralization process outruns the natural remineralization process.

Then the bacteria may invade the pulp of the tooth, causing a consistent tooth pain. It generally hurts more during the night. The bacteria can also produce an abscess; so the tooth must eventually be extracted by the dentist.

Cavities - Our mouth is a very busy place. Little tiny colonies of living organism named bacteria are constantly on the move on our teeth, lips and gums etc... Some of those bacteria are harmful while most are not and some are even helpful. When those bacteria attach hardly themselves to some parts of our teeth like the enamel, they multiply easily in number and form a colony if they are not removed very soon. Some of the bacteria attach already to the colony growing on the tooth enamel. Proteins that are present in your saliva also mix in and the bacteria colony becomes a whitish film on the tooth. This film is called plaque and is the principal cause of cavities. However sugar plays a harmful role in cavities too. Once sugar is present in your teeth, the bacteria turns it to a kind of glue that is hard to get rid of. When the plaque that forms your teeth doesn't get washed by saliva or appropriately brushed, acid is produced. This acid dissolves the minerals that make your tooth enamel hard. The surface of the enamel becomes porous and tiny. So holes build up until a huge one is formed. That's called cavity.

Bad breath - Bad breath or Halitosis is a very common mouth disease. It can be produced by such things as certain foods, a dry mouth(xerostomia), tobacco products, poor oral hygiene, gum disease or a medical disorder. When there is a lack of saliva in your mouth, it can cause bad breath because the saliva is necessary to wash out the rest of the food particles in your mouth. However one of the main cause of bad breath is a negligence of your mouth. When your mouth is not constantly clean; the food you eat begins to get rotten in between your teeth and so it smells. Advanced caries lesions can also contribute to bad breath, particularly when an abscess is formed. If you have a consistent bad breath, it would be wise to go see a doctor to determine the cause of the problem before it gets worst.

Gingivitis - When dental plaque grows, it releases toxins that irritate the gums causing gingivitis. Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gingivae adjacent to the plaque layer, which is observed as a swelling and reddening of the gum tissue. There are some early signs of gingivitis that can help cure it before it gets serious:ging.gif (33600 bytes)
a) Gums bleeding
b) Red-swollen gums
c) Loss of attachment between teeth and gums.
d) Bad breath
e) Increased mobility of teeth

For more educational information check out these resource links:                                 

• www.dentalcare.com
• Colgate Education
• Caesy Education