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What are the causes for tooth decay?

• Poor oral hygiene is the main cause for tooth decay. Plaque is the biggest villain behind both tooth decay and gum diseases. Plaque is a sticky, almost invisible, whitish yellow, thin film of bacteria that constantly forms on your teeth. If proper oral hygiene is not maintained by regular brushing then this plaque combines with sucrose (sugar) present in the food particles you eat to produce acids that cause demineralization of enamel (outermost layer of tooth). Repeated attacks by the bacteria (Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus, etc) results in cavity. Our body cannot replace tooth enamel once it has been destroyed by carious lesions.
• Unregulated diet of sweet foods and drinks. Do not give into the temptation of frequent snacking. Avoid sweets and sticky foods between meals. Bacteria's love sugar and converts such foods into acids, which attack the tooth enamel to produce cavities. The actual amount of sugar eaten in one sitting is not as important as when and how often you choose to eat a sugar containing food. Longer the time the food stays on your teeth, the greater is the chance of forming a cavity.
• Genetics may play a major role in how susceptible you are to the formation of a cavity. The structure, size and shape of the tooth may be passed down through generations. This includes deep pits and grooves which are ideal "plaque traps", and therefore are susceptible to decay. A familial history of high incidence of dental caries has shown to produce decreased resistance to carious attack.
• Improper calcification and mineralisation. Expectant mothers must be particularly careful about their diet as the foundation of a child's teeth occurs by 6^th week intrauterine. Calcification of milk teeth starts by the 6^th month (second trimester). Any chronic disease during the development period of the teeth will affect the proper mineralisation of the teeth, resulting in defective enamel or dentine formation.
• Saliva has a protective function in the mouth. A good flow of saliva washes away food and bacteria that sits on the teeth and gum tissues. Salivary flow helps to neutralize the acids produced by bacteria from plaque. Thus a good salivary flow, reduce the chances of  cavity formation.
• Gum diseases. Infection of the gums causes the gingiva to detach or recede from the teeth exposing the roots to root carries. It also causes interdental spacing and periodontal pockets due to destruction of gingival tissues resulting in food impaction.
• Food impaction between teeth results in bacterial growth and production of acids and cavities between the teeth.
• Supernumerary or impacted teeth. Extra teeth that erupt out of the arch cause food lodgment between the teeth causing carious lesion of the good teeth. Wisdom teeth usually get impacted (do not erupt) because of lack of space in the jaws to erupt properly. This results in debris and food retention causing decay of the wisdom teeth as well as the adjacent tooth.
• Misaligned or irregularly placed teeth. Irregularly placed teeth cause plaque deposition which results in decay if proper brushing technique is not followed.
• Baby Bottle Syndrome. The residual milk in the mouth of infants, who are put to sleep with the bottle, is an excellent nutritive media for the bacteria's causing carious lesions. The carious lesion spreads rapidly and all the milk teeth are affected leaving only the lower anteriors unaffected.

How can tooth decay be prevented?
Certain simple preventive measures can prevent tooth decay. You must follow the Six Golden Rules for good dental health. Maintain proper oral hygiene by following the correct Brushing and Flossing technique. (Follow the links to another of my web page to understand more.)
Fluoride provides many benefits. It aids in the development of sound enamel. It helps reduce enamel solubility and increases enamel resistance to acid attack. It prevents demineralization of enamel. It enhances remineralization at the beginning stages of a cavity and may arrest further development of a cavity by depositing the fluoride mineral called fluoroapatite. Fluoride used in addition to daily brushing and flossing helps to reduce the chances of a cavity.

What are the cures for dental carries?
             Prevention is always better than cure. A cavity should be filled at the earliest before it can cause any major damage. If you develop any blackened spots on your teeth or if it gets sensitive to sweets and to temperature changes, then it is likely that you are in the first stages of tooth decay. Once a small cavity is formed then food particles gets collected in them resulting in a bigger cavity due to undermining of the tooth enamel. The tooth should be restored immediately with a filling material after the entire carious lesion has been removed.
There are many types of filling materials, but for permanent fillings, two commonly used filling materials are --- Amalgam and Composite.

What is an Amalgam filling?
             Silver Amalgam is the oldest filling material know to man. It is an alloy of silver, tin, mercury, copper and zinc.  Silver amalgam is most commonly used for fillings on the back teeth, where strength is of utmost importance and the silver color is relatively inconspicuous. Silver amalgam is relatively inexpensive and lasts an average of 14 years. The filling takes almost two weeks to become fully hardened, but you may safely chew on it after twenty-four hours. Your teeth may experience some degree of temperature sensitivity for a few days to a week, if the carious lesion is deep. If the sensitivity does not disappear in a long while, or it is more serious, you might require RCT.
            Some people are concerned about the toxicity of the mercury used in the filling. But in fact, amalgam has been used successively for many many years in dentistry and has been tested continuously. There is no evidence showing that it is hazardous to human. Since amalgam has dark metal color, the filling is not esthetically pleasing, this is its only disadvantage. Until recently, it was the only choice of  dental filling material.

What is a Composite filling?
            Composite resins are mainly used in the front teeth, where a silver filling would be conspicuous. Thanks to advances in modern dental materials and techniques, teeth can now be restored with more aesthetic and natural appearing filling materials. There are different types of cosmetic fillings currently available. The type used will depend on the location of the tooth and the amount of tooth structure that needs to be repaired. Increasingly, these fillings are now also being used on the back teeth. Although they have the advantage of being the color of the teeth they are more expensive than silver amalgam and may not last as long.
             It is made up of a composite quartz resin and contains a light sensitive agent. These materials come in a variety of shades so that they will match the color of your own teeth. Composite materials are now available that have been specifically designed to withstand the incredible forces you can exert when chewing on your back teeth.
            In order to bond a filling material to your tooth it is first necessary to remove decay, prepare the tooth and then to condition the enamel and dentin. Once conditioned, a thin resin is applied which bonds to the etched surface. The bond strength of these fillings are incredible. After placement, composites are hardened by shining an intense light (ultraviolet) on them for a specified period of time, usually around 40 seconds. The light instantly hardens these fillings. You can eat right away because the composite is instantly hardened and requires no setting time.
           Glass ionomer, a tooth-colored filling, is formulated to release fluoride once in place, a benefit for people prone to decay below the gum line. Glass ionomer or Compomer is used to restore areas damaged by overzealous brushing resulting in abrasions near the gum line.