Thursday, September 5, 2013

What causes cavities?

The concept of protection from caries is founded on the idea that states that there is an equilibrium between the causing factors and the protection factors, equilibrium that when disturbed, might cause cavities.
Tooth decay is an infectious disease that appears as the result of an unbalance between the demineralization process and the mineralization one. The treatment is done after a medical model and it involves 3 ways of approach. The lesions that do not have clinical symptoms are left alone, because through a proper hygiene they can be stabilized. When the lesions affect only the enamel, whether they are a cavity or not they can be treated through prophylactic measures like a proper hygiene and fluoride gels and creams applications. Your dentist in Cabo San Lucas can advise you on a prevention and treatment plan that can improve your dental health.



The apparition of cavities is influenced by 3 major factors: the microbes present in the mouth, some components of food and the quality of dental tissues. The quality and resilience of dental tissues cannot be controlled, but the first two factors can. Basically cavities appear because bacteria will eliminate metabolism products (acids) that are corrosive and destroy the enamel slowly.
The bacteria in the mouth responsible for the apparition of cavities are Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus that consume glucose from sugars and carbohydrates and secrete acids that in time attack the enamel. Your Cabo San Lucas dentist will advise you to have a balanced diet, eat a maximum de 3-4 meals a day, eat hard foods and have a proper oral hygiene. Brushing twice a day, flossing and using a mouthwash or an oral irrigator can help prevent cavities by wiping the surfaces clean of bacteria. If the bacteria cannot stick to the tooth’s surface they will be unable to corrode the enamel. Lipids actually help in stopping the bacteria from sticking to the teeth.  Also liquid foods are less dangerous compared with foods that come in powder form. The stickiness of the food is also very important, because some sugary products like toffee, gummies, and jellies tend to have a prolonged stay in the mouth and are highly cariogenic. Raw foods, rich in fibers have a stimulating effect on salivation and also massage the gums. Some foods can help raise the pH in the moth and prevent the damage made by the acids secreted by the bacteria.
Certain bacteria strains from you moth can be passed to your child if you use the same utensils in babies. This can make them more prone to the baby bottle tooth decay, which can have debilitating effects on the long term. Also sometimes kissing can transfer bacteria strains through saliva. Some people have a more aggressive oral cavity flora and can transfer this to their children by the sharing of the same spoons or forks.
Good practices like a thorough dental hygiene can prevent cavities. Visiting your dentist in Cabo San Lucas every 6 months could help you improve your overall dental health.