Sick of cavities?

Have you ever leaned in for that first kiss and wondered to yourself, “I wonder where this mouth has been?” I have…of course I am a dentist.
The mouth is a very complex system comprised of tissue, chemistry, little bugs and any substance that we put into it. It is the portal into the body and one of the few places where the inside of the body meets the outside world. It’s not surprising therefore as a dentist to find that people are very concerned about how this external display of internal tissue and organs appears to other people. One of the most concerning things that people find out as we talk is that their mouth has a disease that can be passed on to others.
There are several disease processes that I look for and treat in the mouth. Probably the two most common are caries and periodontal disease. Caries is the disease that causes the well-known cavity. It is a bacterial infection in the mouth and it is transmissible, meaning it can be passed to other people. So before you lean in for that first kiss, you might want to prepare yourself by talking with that significant other’s dentist.
Luckily, caries is one disease that is preventable in almost all cases. To understand the disease it is important to know that our mouths are full of bacteria. Some of the bacteria causes cavities and some of it doesn’t.
These cavity-causing bacteria are really not that different from us. They love sugar. When we feed them sugar, they spit out acid onto our teeth. That acidic environment causes minerals in our teeth to leach out into the saliva. Saliva has minerals in it and a basic pH, which helps put the minerals back into the teeth. However, if the acid attack continues, the tooth slowly becomes soft and then develops a hole – enter the cavity. At this point, you are usually in the dental office with a sharp object hanging over your teeth as your dentist breaks the news to you. You leave depressed in both spirit and wallet.
Is there a solution or are you doomed to go through life feeling the effects of this disease? In fact there is a way to treat this disease, and filling those holes in your teeth is only a part of the solution.
I have found that the easiest way to understand this disease and its treatment is to think of it as a balance. On one side of this balance are destructive factors including bacteria, sugar in the diet, frequency of snacking, acid in the diet and lack of saliva. On the other side are protective factors including adequate saliva, a healthy diet, brushing and flossing and fluoride. If the scale is tipped to the destructive side, you get cavities. If it’s tipped to the protective side, you don’t. It’s as simple as that.
The difficult part is finding out which way your personal scale is tipping. There are new techniques that can help us as dentists to find out whether your scale is tipped to the destructive or protective side. The key to the disease management is to find a dentist that can help you find out what’s happening in your mouth and find a preventive treatment that will keep you on the protective side.In the mouth, the farther the disease is allowed to progress, the more damage it does to healthy tissues and the more expensive the treatment options become. It is always less expensive and healthier to catch the signs of the disease as early as possible and treat them accordingly.

Wishing you a healthy smile,

Dr. Bell