What causes caries? This question worries many people, as soon as they feel a slight pain in the tooth. And it is no coincidence that this is what comes to mind first, since the risk of this pathology is very high. Approximately 90% of the world's population is affected by this disease.
Of course, we all know that teeth need care and that they need to be cleaned regularly. And twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. True, it is almost impossible to completely protect yourself from such an insidious enemy. But do not give up, you just need to understand the causes of this pathology.
General information about caries
We all hear the word "caries", but does everyone really understand its meaning? This is the name of a rather complex pathological process, due to which hard dental tissues are destroyed over time. It is no coincidence that caries is translated from Latin as rotting, which, in fact, it is.
HowStatistics show that approximately more than half of the total number of patients who were forced to go to the dentist have signs of this disease of varying degrees (we will look at where caries comes from later in the article).
Thanks to modern methods, it has become possible not only to carry out treatment, but also to effectively diagnose diseases. In no case should you run the disease into a severe form, since at an early stage it can be cured without resorting to a drilling operation.
In caries, tooth enamel is the first thing to be affected. If nothing is done, the deeper layers are affected, which eventually inevitably leads to the complete destruction of the tooth.
A characteristic feature of the pathology is the hole, which is usually formed at an advanced stage of the disease. At first it is small, but when the problem is ignored, it increases in size. And this is already an open door for all sorts of pathogens.
If you continue to do nothing, there will be other complications that threaten not only the appearance of bad breath.
How does tooth decay develop?
Before considering the reasons why caries constantly appears, it is worth touching on its development. As a rule, it is not so easy to detect it at an early stage, since there are no pain sensations, and the person simply has nothing to complain about.
People turn to a specialist in the case when the pathology has affected the deep layers of tooth tissues or due to damage to its extensivesurfaces. Here, not only pain appears, but also characteristic signs, which consist in the manifestation of reactions to food and temperature.
There are several stages of the disease:
- Early.
- Shallow.
- Average.
- Deep.
It is better not to start the pathology and try to timely detect the disease at an early stage. In this case, there is a chance to get by with simple methods of treatment. To do this, the teeth should be carefully examined from time to time.
Initial stage
At this stage, only the shade of tooth enamel is subject to change, and the tissues themselves have not yet been touched. This is expressed as surface roughness. There are no other noticeable signs that caries has appeared on the front teeth, as well as pain.
Since the pathology is easily detected, there is still a chance to fix everything. At this stage of the disease, drilling of the tooth is simply not necessary. To do this, use funds in the form of external applications with a therapeutic effect. Remineralizing solutions with the inclusion of fluorides, calcium compounds or other useful trace elements are used. All this helps to strengthen tooth enamel.
To enhance the effectiveness of therapy, the patient is additionally prescribed a vitamin-mineral complex.
Superficial lesion of the tooth
If the early stage of caries was not detected or ignored, then the pathology proceeds to the next stage. In this case, it is already a little easier to notice, since the defectacquires clear features: the affected area has an oval or rounded shape. But otherwise, the symptoms are not different from the early stage of caries. Although some patients may experience a tooth reaction to a food or temperature stimulus.
What to do if there is caries on the teeth? Treatment at this stage of the pathology involves the preparation of the tooth. This is a necessary procedure that will allow the seal to be securely fixed. The operation is performed using special dyes, which allows you to accurately identify the affected areas of the tooth. After which they are eliminated during the drilling procedure.
As a result, the dentist needs to choose a filling composition for the natural shade of he althy teeth.
Mean pathology
This is a more serious stage of the disease, in which the entire surface of the tooth enamel is destroyed. But, in addition to this, the next layer is also affected - dentin. Signs of caries are already more pronounced due to the involvement of deep layers. The cosmetic defect is significantly noticeable, and the patient may experience pain while eating.
Treatment of this stage of the disease is not complete without a tooth preparation procedure, since not only the surface of the enamel is affected, but also the deep tissues have been affected. The latter must certainly be removed.
As practice shows, if a filling is placed on a poorly cleaned cavity, then later a relapse cannot be avoided against the background of various complications.
What to do if there is caries in the middle stage?The whole procedure is carried out in the hospital as follows:
- To begin with, the affected cavity is prepared.
- Further it all depends on the type of filling. If it contains toxic substances, then the walls and bottom of the tooth are covered with a special insulating material. With today's non-toxic filling formulations, there is no need for such isolation.
- Finally, it remains for the dentist to fill the cleaned (if necessary, isolated) cavity with a filling.
After the composition is applied, it is necessary to finish the tooth. That is, the bite is restored, if necessary, fissures of the molars are formed.
Deep disease
At this stage of the disease, its signs are even more pronounced, and they cannot be confused with anything. If you ignore the middle stage of the pathology, then the destructive process continues and penetrates even deeper. All tissues are damaged, and pronounced symptoms are due to the fact that the carious focus is located near the pulp.
In this case, the person is no longer up to the question of what causes caries on the teeth, because he experiences severe pain during meals or when performing regular hygiene - the affected tooth reacts sharply to any irritant. As soon as he withdraws, the pain begins to subside gradually.
Can a tooth be cured at this stage of the disease? Yes, it is possible even in such a neglected case. Only here you should be especially careful, because near the lesion is locatednerve.
In order to avoid reflex protective movements of the patient under the influence of pain, local anesthesia is performed. The dentist himself will also have to work with great care, since careless movement during preparation can lead to traumatic pulpitis.
All treatment consists of three stages:
- Medical paste is applied to partially restore the dentin and remove the irritating effect from the pulp.
- Insulation bookmark.
- Closing the cavity with a filling composition.
From all this it follows that the preparation procedure can be avoided only at the initial stage of caries. If the pathology has affected the dental tissues, then there is nothing to be done. Now it's time to go directly to clarifying the question, which causes caries.
Causes of pathology
From the moment that dentistry was formed and developed into a whole science, many specialists have developed theories regarding the occurrence of caries. There were about 400 in total, but most of them remained unconfirmed.
Caries cannot occur by itself, because there are prerequisites for this. The oral cavity is inhabited by a great variety of microorganisms, including the bacteria Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguis. They react chemically with carbohydrates, which are found in almost all foods. As a result, an organic acid is formed, which is not good for the teeth.
Only that's why some people have tovisit the dentist almost every year, if not more often, while others have caries much less often?! It's all about the characteristics of the body. If a person has weak immunity, then one should not be surprised why caries appears on the teeth. The body simply has little strength to withstand such a threat.
Optimal conditions for bacteria
In some cases, we ourselves contribute to the onset of caries, and here's why:
- poor oral care;
- quick cleaning of teeth;
- we consume more carbohydrate food (sweet, starchy foods);
- lack of fresh vegetables and fruits;
- low vitamin intake.
In addition, predisposition to caries occurs in the presence of diseases of the digestive system. If in childhood a person has been ill with tuberculosis or rickets, then the consequence of this is a violation of the formation of teeth, which can also be the cause of caries.
All these factors lead over time to the formation of plaque, which is a favorable environment for the reproduction and development of pathogenic bacteria. It comes to the fact that the surface of the tooth enamel becomes thinner, which gives it fragility.
To avoid many unpleasant consequences, it is necessary to reduce the risk of pathology by reducing or completely eliminating the influence of harmful factors.
Some people may wonder what vitamin causes cavities? But, as mentioned above, the appearance of pathology is not due tothe content of any substances, but rather due to their lack. In particular, this applies to vitamin D, without which calcium is not absorbed by the body.
Additional factors
But, in addition to the above, there are a number of additional factors that you should also be aware of:
- Crowded teeth.
- Little salivation.
- Quality saliva fluid.
- Features of food.
In some people, crowding of teeth is a feature of the oral cavity. In this case, they are too close to each other. Because of this, food particles remain in the tight interdental space, which are very difficult to remove.
Saliva plays an important role, because it is thanks to it that tooth enamel is cleaned. Normally, 1.5-2 liters of useful liquid are produced for the whole day. This amount is enough to neutralize the acid that bacteria create. Therefore, if someone has minimal salivation, the risk of tooth decay increases.
In ensuring the protection of teeth, it is important not only a certain amount of saliva, but also its composition. Normally, it should have an alkaline environment in order to neutralize the acid that is dangerous for enamel. If the saliva is chemically neutral, then it will not help to reliably clean the teeth.
If you maintain he althy tooth enamel, then the question of why caries appears will not arise. And it completely depends on the diet of a person. If fructose, glucose, sucrose, starch, lactose are included in it in large quantities, then frequentgoing to the dentist is guaranteed. And if, in addition, you do not monitor the oral cavity (exclude rinsing, regular brushing, etc.), then the risk increases significantly.
Backfire
Those patients who, for whatever reason, ignore the treatment of caries at the initial stage, risk earning serious complications. The resulting pathology, having begun to destroy the dental tissue, will not stop by itself. If nothing is done, the patient will face unpleasant consequences:
- Pulpitis. This disease develops as a result of damage to the pulp (the nerve of the tooth). In this case, the patient experiences severe pain. If the disease continues to develop, the nerve tissue eventually dies, and the tooth stops receiving nutrition.
- Periodontitis. This pathology is characterized by damage to periodontal tissues. Inflammation affects the internal canals of the tooth and nearby tissues. Accumulation near the root of a purulent discharge indicates a periodontal abscess. Therefore, it is necessary not only to know what causes caries, it is much more important to prevent its occurrence.
- Cyst. Deteriorating dental tissues lead to the formation of tooth granulation and a cavity that is filled with pus. Before treatment, the doctor takes a puncture, and then removes the cyst.
- Flux. From time to time, patients who have a swollen cheek get to the dentist. This is a clear sign of flux - this is the name of the inflammation of the tissue (periosteum) that covers the tooth. It exfoliates, and the forming cavity is filled with pus. With this disease, patients need urgent treatment. Everything is done in the following way:First, the dentist makes a small incision in order to release all the pus and clean the cavity. The patient then needs to take antibiotics for a certain amount of time.
Unfortunately, not all people understand the seriousness of tooth decay and visit the dentist only as a last resort when severe pain appears. However, this is a sure sign that the disease has passed into a severe stage with subsequent serious complications.
Preventive measures
In order not to suffer over the problem that causes caries, you should stop its appearance in the bud. To do this, there are simple preventive techniques:
- Proper brushing of teeth.
- Using rinse aid.
- Compensation for lack of fluorine.
- Compliance with the temperature regime of food.
- Regular inspection.
To keep your teeth clean, they should be cleaned in the morning and in the evening. And it should take two minutes, no less! It is important to clean all gaps where microorganisms can accumulate. This will significantly increase the effectiveness of hygiene.
It is better to rinse your mouth after each meal, and in the mornings and evenings, complete the procedure using rinses. In their composition, they contain essential oils that destroy pathogenic bacteria (99.9%), which will prevent caries from quickly appearing.
Fluoride is an essential micronutrient that increases the strength of teeth. It is found in drinking water, but in some regions it is very scarce. You can replenish the supply of fluorine by fluoridation of water,but it is much better to use special rinses, where it is contained.
You should not expose your teeth to sudden changes in temperature, because as a result of this, microcracks are formed, where bacteria rush. Therefore, it is better to refrain from very hot, cold or contrasting foods.
The dentist should be contacted not only about the treatment of the disease, it is necessary to visit him regularly for the purpose of examination. This will allow timely detection of lesions and keep the teeth in place.
Preventive measures are aimed at maintaining he althy teeth. Who wants to suffer from unbearable pain?! As for visits to the dentist, it is better to visit him once every 6 months or, in extreme cases, limit yourself to an annual visit. Then the painful question of why caries appears, you simply will not worry.
