Causes of tooth decay

How Does It Happen?

When we talk about tooth decay and deterioration, there is a whole process needed to be mentioned. Namely, we have numerous bacteria in our mouth and our saliva. These get combined with everything we eat. However, if the remains of what we ate stay in our mouth, they get connected to the bacteria and the saliva, creating plaque, a bacterial mass which gets stuck to our teeth. To make things worse, whenever we eat something sweet, these bacterias feed on it, producing acids in the process. These acids eat away the outer, protective layers of our teeth, triggering their decay and increasing their vulnerability. In time, the decay exposes our tooth nerves to the bacteria, triggering toothache.

All this can be avoided simply by a good dental care and habits and a regular visit to the dentist. Nevertheless, there are more people who avoid that than people who take care of their teeth. Thus there are more people with caries than there are with healthy teeth. All in all, reacting timely saves your teeth and keeps them healthy while neglecting them causes incredible amounts of pain and discomfort, among other things.

Further Causes of Toothache and Tooth Decay

Since, as mentioned before, the bacteria first attack the outer, harder layer of the tooth, this process lasts longer. However, once destroyed, the outer layer leads way to an additional, yet significantly softer layer of the toot, much easier to be destroyed. Thus, the second process of decay is faster. Finally, once the second layer had been destroyed, the bacteria enters the very core of one's tooth, affecting the nerves and causing serious pain. If the tooth is not treated, and this stage advances, more serious conditions may occur and tooth extraction will most certainly be a must. The teeth which are most prone to tooth decay are those which are more on the inside of our mouth. This is mainly because these teeth are harder to be cleaned and food gets stuck onto them more easily.

Lifestyles Causing Tooth Decay

People who eat foods which are rich in carbohydrates such as sweets, drinks with sugar and pastry, have higher risks of developing toothache than those who have different diets. Additionally, it goes without saying that people who brush their teeth rarely and neglectfully are more likely to experience toothache than those who pay special attention to their dental health. Saliva plays a great role in tooth protection. Therefore those who suffer from dry mouth are in danger of developing caries. Some medications may have dry mouth as their side-effect, and one should be careful while using those and hydrate regularly in order to restore your saliva.

Finally, eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia, as well as some gastric diseases may cause tooth decay too since these can trigger movement of the stomach acids up to one's mouth, destroying the protective layers of one's teeth in the process.