Caries : Beware!

Assalamualaikum and greetings to everyone :)

Today i'll be writing about caries which is also known as tooth decay in layman term. As far as the definition concern it is defined as an infectious microbiologic disease, characterized by demineralization of the inorganic portion and destruction of the organic substance of the tooth, which often lead to cavitations. Yes, this is too long and may be a little bit difficult to understand. So to put in simple words it is a disease of teeth which if we let it be ultimately will cause cavitation.

It is said that it is a disease of modern civilisation as we consume a lot more refined sugar, processed and soft food nowadays. Let's see who is the culprit behind all this. Guess what? Yes correct! It is caused by bacteria known as Streptococcus mutans. Anyway there are lot more but to mention a few Actinomyces viscosus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, S. sanguis, S. mitior etc.

Apart from that tooth decay is caused by multifactorial factor which includes foods, teeth, time and bacteria itself. Why??? Here take a look at figure below and watch the subsequent video.

Tetralogy of caries

When you having meal, food will accumulate on your tooth surface. If it is not clean or remove for a sufficient time, the bacteria will use the food as their subtrate to produce acid. This acid in turn will lead to cavitation after a period of time. Therefore it is important to at least rinse your mouth with water every time after meal to prevent accumulation of plaque on the tooth surface.

There are several types of caries in which it can occur.

Inter proximal caries, caries in between of teeth

Root caries occur when there is recession of the gum

Smooth surface caries

Most common sites of caries pit and fissure caries

To prevent the dental caries to occur there are several things you have to do.

1. Brush your teeth at least twice daily. In the morning after breakfast and before going to bed at night. It is also a good habit if you also use mouthwash and floss your teeth.

     2.  Reduce the intake of snacks and sweet in between meals.

     3.  Visit your dentist at least twice a year for professional check-up so that caries can be detect as early as possible and proper treatment can be institute.

If at any cause the caries eventually occur the dentist will usually restore the affected tooth. For children to prevent caries some topical fluoride application can be done professionally in the dental office. Instead of getting treatment there might be one that ignore their tooth decay. It might be because of ignorance or unable to recognize the caries. 

One might be concern about their teeth when it started to show some symptoms like tooth ache and if we just let it be it may lead to some consequences like tooth abscess. Eventually the particular tooth may end up to go for root canal treatment or extraction.

So now ask yourself do you want caries to occur in your mouth? Save your teeth and give a perfect smile everyday :) Till then...