The Best Ways to Prevent and Treat Cavities

Virtually every American has had cavities, also called dental caries or tooth decay, making this among the most common diseases. A cavity can afflict the outer layer, the surface enamel, or it can penetrate into the dentin below it, both of which protect the vulnerable soft tissue of nerves and blood vessels at the core, known as the pulp.
Tooth decay usually occurs because the residue of food and beverages is left on the teeth and gums because of inadequate brushing and flossing. Bacteria turn this into a sticky film called plaque, which emits acids that eat away at the enamel, creating the infected holes we appropriately call cavities. When the plaque hardens, it’s called tartar and is very hard to remove.
Few people are taught how to properly brush after breakfast and dinner and floss before bedtime. It isn’t easy and the foods and beverages many consume are likely to cling to teeth–simple carbohydrates like candy, cakes, cookies, sugary sodas, and also products made from refined flour, cereals, dairy foods, and fruits. Snacking frequently makes it more likely that food will be left on teeth for a long time. If not cleaned off carefully, the acids not only create caries, they cause the gums to start to pull away from the teeth, which can eventually fall out. 
There are other factors that encourage dental decay, including acid reflux, a lack of fluoride in the local water, dry mouth (because saliva washes away food and plaque), and eating disorders that lead to throwing up, which puts stomach acid on teeth.
The symptoms of dental caries may include an aching tooth, tooth sensitivity, visible pits in teeth, and pain when you eat or drink hot, cold, or sweet things. Any problem can be diagnosed by your dentist with a digital x-ray (which emits very little radiation).
There are several ways in which a cavity can be treated:
The most obvious one we have all had placed are fillings. Your dentist removes the decayed area with special tools, makes an impression of the hole, and sends it to a dental lab to prepare a customized filling of dental porcelain, which will make it less likely that decay will reoccur. When it is ready, you will return to have it placed. Popular fillings in the past included composite resin, mercury-based materials, silver alloy, and gold. However, given the potential problems, limited durability, and cost of these, Bedford Dental Group prefers dental porcelain. It blends with your other teeth, requires less removal of the natural tooth, and lasts longer.
In cases where much of the top of a decayed tooth is beyond repair, after the infection is removed a dental crown can be placed on top, so that it can return the mouth to its healthy functioning. If the root is injured or dead, we can clean out the root canal, filling it with neutral material to prevent reinfection and resealing it.
Perhaps best of all, every procedure at Bedford Dental Group is done painlessly.

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