Tooth decay is an active process of tooth destruction resulting from interactions between teeth, food, and bacteria. Due to the interaction of food and bacteria, the mineral content of the tooth gets dissolved, resulting in formation of a hole or a cavity. This decay process can be prevented by working closely with your dentist and following the recommended plan of action. Maintaining a proper diet,limiting food consumption in between meals and brushing you teeth with a fluoride toothpaste can also help reduce your risk.
Bacteria interacts with the food you eat and produces waste products, which are acidic in nature. These acids are harmful to your teeth, but your body’s immune system counter-attacks by formation of saliva in the mouth. The saliva not only neutralizes the acids, it also contains minerals, which help rebuild the areas of the tooth that were demineralized or attacked by the acids. This rebuilding process is known as Remineralization. Frequent consumption of foods and beverages can tip the balance of remineralization in favor of the decay process. Sticky foods, such as caramels and raisins, should be avoided in particular as between-meal snacks. This is because these sticky foods have a tendency to stick inside the mouth and hence, making the area vulnerable to bacterial attack. Also, because of the sticky nature of the food, the counter-attack by the saliva to prevent and repair looses it’s edge. To help prevent tooth decay, you should limit your intake of sticky and/or sugary foods items and beverages.
Another form of tooth decay, which is pretty common in children occurs if the children are allowed to fall asleep with a baby bottle, or if they are given the bottle to carry around with them. The liquid, irrespective of whether it is milk, fruit juice or any other drink, is subject to bacterial action during the time kids carry them. Hence, providing edge to bacterial action, resulting in rapid tooth decay. Such a situation if often known as “Baby Bottle Tooth Decay“.
Another common tooth problem is plaque. Certain bacteria known as streptococci mutans and lactobacillus have the ability to leverage sugars and starch present in the food to cause tooth decay. We always have small amounts of such bacteria in our mouth, but sometimes they may be present in higher levels, inreasing the vulnerability of the tooth towards decay. Plaque can however be easily removed by brushing at least twice a day and flossing once a day.
Saliva formation varies from person to person, it varies with age and also there are several other factors which can govern the saliva formation in your body. Tooth shape, formation and position also play a vital role in your tooth decay situation. These factors, coupled with your saliva formation, dental treatment and oral health habits are responsible for your tooth saftey or decay.
Fluoride is one of the minerals, which fights the war against tooth decay. Hence, increasing the fluoride content in your daily diet can help you fight this battle. Fluoride tooth paste can be helpful in this case. Once a tooth looses the war to bacteria and cavity formation happens. Since brushing an cleaning a cavity is not an easy task, so slowly decay of the tooth starts. Root Canal Treatment (during early stages of cavity formation) or tooth extraction (during later stages of decay) are the only solutions to prevent further decay.
Click here and Save on Dental Care with Discount Dental Plans!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=3c4150fb-db4f-4dc0-834b-25333518fb6a)
