All about Cavities!

Cavities are painful for not only children but also for adults. It can happen in places where decay has eaten through the enamel and exposed a tooth's root. Hot or cold food or liquids can send a painful signal that something is wrong. Cavities may or may not have any symptoms until after significant damage to the tooth. This is why regular visits toDental Doctors in Hyderabad are so important. Early signs of tooth decay are easier to treat than advanced cases.

What Happens when we eat sugar?

When we consume sugar, in presence of the right kind of Bacteria (acid-forming) around the teeth, acid forms in less than thirty seconds and stays on the teeth for nearly half an hour!

The acid-forming bacteria are attracted by sugar consumption and start to dominate over other usually-present bacteria in the mouth. Dental care for kids is very important. If children eat plenty of sugar, soon their mouth will be colonized by such acid-producing bacteria (the other bacteria which are called beneficial bacteria are slowly wiped out).

The acid attack lasts about thirty minutes from one sugar exposure (if a child eats one cookie or candy or anything that contains sugar, it is counted as one sugar exposure. Quantity is not relevant!). if a child takes sugar every thirty minutes, acid is formed all day and the teeth are attacked by acid constantly.

Acid that is thus formed, destroys the tooth enamel and finally decays the center of teeth and leads to an infection (dental abscess). This condition is painful and can lead to fever accompanied by swelling in the gums/jaws and rarely even to inability to open the mouth or even affects other important organs such as the eye, sinus and even the lungs.

What about Honey? Or Brown sugar? Or Jaggery?

Sugar in any form is dangerous. Most dangerous sugar is the table sugar and sugar used in processed foods (candy, cookies, biscuits, Chocos, lays, Kurkure etc.). Natural forms of sugar such as Jaggery and honey also cause cavities, but to a much lesser extent.

Don’t we need sugar for energy?

Yes. But not in form of refined or table sugar!

When we eat rice or potato, it reaches our stomach and is digested and then converted to sugar to release energy. This process takes quite a while and there is no acid formation in the mouth. But when we take sugar (which is artificially made by process in sugarcane), it is readily broken down to acid in the mouth which causes cavities

What can cavities lead to?

Sometimes these infections are very painful and make chewing food difficult. Some of the important effects of cavities are –

§  Loss of school time/ Inability to focus at school -  Due to pain, children miss school and often have difficulty concentrating in school

§  Disruption of jaw growth - Whenever there is active infection in a growing child, the part that is actively growing is affected due to the infection. Dental infections in actively growing children can cause disruption of jaw growth and lead to facial asymmetry which becomes obvious once the child reaches his teens

§  Disruption of general body growth - In growing children, food is an important aspect of growth. Even the most nutritious food is not properly digested and absorbed if the child cannot “chew” and consume the food. Cavities make chewing painful and therefore children prefer to swallow food with minimal chewing!

§  Poor general Health – Oral Health is the gateway to the overall Health. A healthy body begins with a healthy mouth. Often children with untreated dental infection, cavities and gum disease have more frequent cough, colds, stomach infections.

§  Irregular Permanent Teeth – It is seen that children that have cavities in the milk teeth and lose milk teeth early, tend to have irregular permanent teeth which later needs correction with braces

§  Speech Issues -  Children who lose front teeth early develop speech problems and are unable to pronounce certain words clearly

§  Poor self-confidence– Children who lose teeth early often tend to be shy and timid when they are with other children of similar age group

What about brushing teeth? Does it help prevent cavities?

When we brush our teeth, the idea is to remove all bacteria from around the teeth. This takes time and effort and children need supervision at least until they are 9 or 10 years old until they can develop good motor control and hand coordination. Dentistry for children is the treatment of diseases and other conditions that affect the teeth and gums, especially the repair and extraction of teeth and the insertion of artificial ones. What we need to brush is the white, sticky substances that form on the surface of all teeth.  This layer once removed with brushing, starts to form immediately after brushing; however, it takes about 10 to 12 hours for the bacterial layer to mature after which it can break-down sugar to acid. Therefore, we need to brush twice a day so that the teeth are free from mature bacterial layer for most of the day. It is extremely important to brush at bedtime when most damage happens.

So can I still eat sugar if I brush twice?

NO! Brushing teeth is difficult. In spite of our best efforts, we usually miss about 25 to 30 percent of tooth surfaces (usually in between the teeth where the toothbrush cannot reach). This means we need to add-on procedures such as flossing and mouth-washing and using additional brushing aids such as water-flossing and using dental wood-sticks. Further, considering that we brush twice, the sugar that we take in-between brushing time can still cause acid damage.

With Special Healthcare Needs and Best Pediatric Dentist in Hyderabad, cavities can easily diagnose and cured. Practicing good dental health is important to maintaining a healthy mouth, teeth and gums. It will also help our appearance and quality of life. Regular visits Bestdental clinic in hyderabad help you maintain healthy teeth, gums and mouth.​​