Your mouth is the breeding place for various bacteria. These bacteria use the sugar in food and turn them into acids. These acids then react with a tooth, gradually drilling a hole in it, which is infamously known as a tooth cavity. 

You might wonder why exactly this happens. When your teeth are subjected to acid frequently, the repeated acid attacks on the enamel, the enamel starts losing its minerals. The first sign of tooth decay is when a white spot appears on the tooth. This white spot is the area from where the enamel has lost its minerals. If not taken care of from the time this early sign of decay makes an appearance, then the decay just gets more serious and the white spot will turn into a cavity. Here are some tips to avoid tooth decay altogether:

1. Use fluoride based toothpaste and mouthwash: fluoride prevents tooth decay from maturing. It can even reverse or stop tooth decay, which is in its early stage. It also protects the tooth from further decay and replenishes the lost minerals from the enamel and prevents any further loss. It also reduces the acid making ability of the bacteria present in the mouth.

2. Keep a check on food: keep a study check on what you are eating. If you eat too much of junk food or food which contains a lot of sugar regularly, then suffering from a tooth decay is inevitable. Try to limit those foods to maybe once or twice a week.

3. Brush your teeth: brush your teeth regularly, preferably with fluoride toothpaste. Not only will the fluoride toothpaste protect your teeth, the toothbrush will also take out any food particle stuck between two teeth. Brush at least twice a day or preferably after every meal and before bed.

4. Use dental floss: clean in between your teeth with a dental floss.

5. Eat cheese: cheese contains casein which prevents tooth decay or cavity formation.

6. Visit your dentist regularly: make sure you visit your dentist regularly to keep your teeth healthy.

How to Avoid Tooth Decay

5 foods you didn't know were ruining your teeth

Brushing is not the only way to keep your teeth free from damage. To have perfectly healthy and sparkly teeth, you should avoid certain foods as well, especially those high in sugar and acid content.

Fruits rich in sucrose (such as cherries, mangoes and pears) are like food to the bacteria in your mouth. These bacteria give rise to plaque build-up; and produce lactic acid, which causes the erosion of your tooth enamel.

As for foods containing acid (like meat, cashew nuts and peanuts), their acidic content is chiefly responsible for tooth decay. In fact, these foods eat away at your enamel and cause your teeth to chip and break.

Which are the foods that spell danger for your teeth?

1. Apples: sadly, an apple a day doesn't keep the dentist away. Apples have high acidic content and are very harsh on your enamel. Remember to rinse your mouth thoroughly with water just after having apples.

2. Pickles: pickles are either made of sugar or vinegar and can be sweet and sour, depending on what's used. While the vegetables and fruits used in these pickles may do you good, it's the brine that brings about tooth decay. Make sure to brush your teeth after an hour of having pickles to prevent any sort of damage.

3. Bread: processed white bread that you have at breakfast every morning is loaded with sugar. It's quite sticky as well and easily gets lodged between your teeth, giving rise to cavities.

4. Popcorn: working in the same way as bread, popcorn can get easily stuck in the lines between your teeth, leading to a rise in the level of bacteria in your mouth. You can indulge yourself in a bit of popcorn as long as you floss and brush after an hour or two of eating it.

5. Diet sodas: just because sodas contain no added sugar doesn't mean they are healthy for your teeth. The acidity of diet sodas is very high, making it one of the worst things out there for your teeth. The only thing you can do is to cut down your consumption of diet sodas.


If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on consult.

5 Foods that Ruin Your TEETH Without Your Knowledge, Every Day!

Small painful mouth sores can be anywhere in the mouth lips, soft palate, hard palate, cheeks, gum base, tongue and even on the roof of the mouth. When situated  inside the mouth, they can cause pain during eating or swallowing, especially with hot or spicy foods. A bigger cause for concern is that these mouth sores or mouth ulcers or canker sores could be an indication of an underlying health condition. A lot of chronic diseases, including HIV, herpes, and syphilis, manifest themselves as mouth sores. The following are some of the health conditions to watch out for when you have mouth sores. Each disease has characteristic appearance and so very often are easy to identify.


1. Herpes simplex (HSV1): The herpes simplex virus causes sores on the lips only which are usually painful with red blisters that last about 10 to 14 days. These are caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 and the sores appear about 20 days after contracting the virus. Also, once they enter the system, they can cause recurrent attacks especially when the immunity is low.


2. Canker sore: The most common type of mouth ulcer, they are also known as aphthous ulcers and are usually seen on the soft tissues of the mouth (not the hard palate or the gum base). These are generally innocuous and heal within 5 to 7 days. Do reach out for medical help if there are more than 5 to 6 bouts of canker sores in a year.


3. Oral thrush: Also known as candidiasis, this is where there are whitish lesions on the tongue and the insides of the mouth. Candida is a fungus that is normally present in the mouth, but when the immune system is weakened, it can lead to an infection, orally manifested as white lesions. These are typical and appear in toddlers and in patients with anemia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, or cancer patients on chemotherapy.


4. HIV/AIDS: Another disease which first can be diagnosed in the mouth is HIV/AIDS. In the first stages of infection, known as acute retroviral syndrome, where the first symptoms of the disease begin to manifest, oral ulcers are one of the first symptoms. With the other associated symptoms, more workup for diagnosis should be done followed by appropriate treatment.


5. Oral cancers: The lining of the inside of the mouth can develop cancer and usually it appears in the form of chronic non healing ulcer that just does not go away. Seen anywhere in the mouth, nonhealing ulcers are a cause for concern and should be investigated and treated.


As seen above, mouth sores may be harmless often, but in some cases, may have something more to tell about the health in some cases. 

Mouth Sores - Could They Be More Than Just a Sore!

Toothache is a painful dental condition that affects many people worldwide. At times the excruciating pain can drive a normal person insane. Cavity and tooth decay contribute to toothache in a big way. However, toothache can also be an indication of some serious dental ailments that needs immediate attention. The following factors/reasons can equally contribute to toothache (mild or severe).

Tooth decay: Tooth decay and cavities are synonymous to unhealthy teeth and toothache. Cavities can also give rise to awkward complications like bad breath. Thus, proper dental care and hygiene is of topmost priority. It is highly recommended to brush the teeth three times daily.
Accidental falls: Accidents incurred during sports or games often go unnoticed and untreated. This can invite unwanted complications like broken teeth, infections or inflammations resulting in toothache.
Unhealthy gums: Bleeding, painful and swollen gums and many other gum ailments can severely affect the teeth. At an advanced stage, this can lead to unbearable toothache.
Bruxism: Many people knowingly or unknowingly indulge in Bruxism or tooth grinding. Bruxism can have serious dental implications. It exerts tremendous pressure on the teeth and the supporting tissues. Eventually the jaw muscles also get affected, with toothache being the inevitable consequence.
Decaying enamel: Healthy enamel implies healthy teeth. Factors like excessive intake of sweets, drinks and chocolates play a significant role in enamel decay.  This can have a detrimental effect on the teeth resulting in toothache.
Abscess, a serious dental ailment:  Abscess is the manifestation of dental infections, whereby pus formation takes place between the gum and a tooth. Pus formation can also take place at the base of a tooth resulting in toothache.
Cracked tooth syndrome: A fractured tooth often acts as a catalyst, leading to toothache. The crack on the tooth is so small that even an x-ray fails to reveal it. Factors like bruxism, tooth decay, to name a few; contribute to the Cracked Tooth Syndrome.
The wisdom mystery: Lucky are those whose wisdom teeth erupt completely, at a single go. Impacted wisdom teeth can give a person sleepless nights. Misaligned teeth are no better.
Toothache and periodontal complications: It is a serious condition leading to shooting pain and inflammation. The inflammation and pain affects the root of the tooth immensely. It usually results from infections in plaque formations.
Sinus infections: In many cases, it has been found that sinus infection can lead to toothache. Positioned close to the upper back teeth, the sinuses give rise to what is known as a dull ache.
Toothache can be an amalgamation of many factors. Thus, it is very important to go for periodical dental & full body check ups.

10 Reasons for Toothache

The tooth may look a tiny structure, but is a very complicated one. Structurally, it has very high concentrations of minerals and vitamins, all essential for optimal dental health. Reduced or increased amounts of these substances can lead to obvious defects in the teeth, which may impair aesthetics and sometimes even the functioning of the tooth.
While calcium is one mineral that would immediately come to mind, there are a lot of other vitamins and minerals too which play a significant role both in tooth formation and in optimal dental health. Listed below are some of these, along with their role in dental health.

Vitamins:

Vitamin a: often associated with vision, vitamin a is essential for production of good amount of saliva which maintains healthy mucous membranes. Reduced saliva increases predisposition to decay and gum disease and also increases bad breath.

Vitamin d: needless to say, with the strength of the jaw bones, a good amount of calcium is required to boost bone mineral density.

Vitamin c: the gums have connective tissue fibers which help bind the tooth to the jaw bone. For good strength of the connective tissue, vitamin c is important. Therefore, vitamin c deficiency can lead to tooth mobility and even tooth loss in severe cases.

Vitamin b complex: there are too many people who would have popped a multivitamin to ward off mouth sores. Niacin and riboflavin especially are essential for optimal mucosal health and reduce inflammation.

Vitamin k: this has multiple roles to play. It helps in improving the body's healing process, blocks substances that break down bone, promotes bone strength, and reduces bleeding disorders.

Minerals: there is a long list of minerals that are essential for optimal dental health, as below:
Calcium: from strong enamel to jaw bone, calcium is extremely important for the tooth to be fully formed. Calcium deficiency can result in hypoplastic teeth that are more prone for chipping and decay.

Potassium: needed to improve bone mineral density. It also works in conjunction with magnesium and prevents from the blood turning too acidic. Acidic blood can suck out calcium from teeth and bones.

Fluoride: proven to be the anti-decay magic medicine, fluoride reduces the incidence of tooth decay. Fluoride gels are applied for children to promote remineralization of enamel which may have initial caries.

Phosphorus: provides support to calcium and potassium in bone formation.

Iron: required for keeping red blood cell count at a good level and fighting infections.

Iodine: this trace mineral is required for absorption of calcium and potassium that is essential for tooth formation.

Zinc: naturally found in saliva, it fights against plaque formation and subsequent infections.

For optimal dental function, ensure your diet has these essential nutrients.

The Best Vitamins & Minerals For Your Teeth

Clove is a commonly known spice, which is native to the Asian cuisine. They are dried flower buds of a tree from the family of Myrtaceae. These buds are known to be harvested originally in Maluku Islands in Indonesia. The cloves are aromatic and is known to lend a sweet and earthy flavor to food. Historically, cloves have been used both for culinary and medicinal uses. As a culinary spice, clove is used in meat dishes, curries, drinks and marinades. It is widely used in Indian, Chinese, African and South Asian cuisine.

Cloves have amazing medicinal properties. The bud has been widely recognized as a wonder bud packed with health benefits. In India, cloves are an important element of Ayurvedic medicine. It s warm and soothing properties are beneficial for treating digestive tract problems. Clove oil is used in aromatherapy and can also be used as an ant repellent, due to its strong smell.

Clove oil is extracted from cloves and contains a chemical compound called Eugenol. This compound not only lends aroma to the spice, but also possesses analgesic, antibacterial, antiseptic and anesthetic properties. It is for this reason, clove oil is used extensively in dentistry as an anodyne (A pain reliever). Its antiseptic and antibacterial properties are beneficial in treating infections and its anesthetic qualities are extremely helpful in relieving pain.

In painful teeth conditions like an abscessed tooth, infections, gum disease or even cavities, toothache can range from mild to sharp shooting and almost unbearable pain. The patient suffering from such conditions is usually put on antibiotics, thus, it is wise to recommend using Ayurvedic clove oil or Eugenol oil as it is commonly known for its pain relief properties. Eugenol helps in providing relief from pain by arresting the nerve tissues, causing a local anesthetic effect. However, it is strongly advised to use clove oil only under the guidance of a dentist.

Since Clove oil can alter blood sugar levels and is warm in nature and is not recommended for patients suffering from diabetes or bleeding disorders. Caution must be exercised as overuse of clove oil can cause nerve damage. If using at home, it is better to mix 2 to 3 drops of the clove oil along with half a teaspoon of olive oil and then apply the mixture to the painful area. The oil can also be applied using a cotton ball on the painful tooth with the help of tweezers; however, it is important that one should not keep the oil for more than 10 seconds on the affected area. It is also important not to swallow any oil as it can be harmful for your health. Drinking clove tea or chewing a clove till it releases its oil is much safer and effective way to use it, than using a clove oil.

So, next time you have a toothache, do not suffer. Try this medicinal gift, but stay safe.

Clove and its Benefits in Relieving Tooth Pain

Don't wait any longer, manage your Implantologist online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Implantologist - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES