Cavities

Everyone knows about cavities. Most of us have had a filling because of one. But what do we really know about what causes cavities? Bottom line is that bacteria take sugar, eat it, and produce acid. That acid is what turns the hardest substance in the body, your teeth, to mush.

How do you know if you have a cavity?

Unfortunately unless a cavity is pretty big there are no real physical symptoms. A tooth with a cavity may be stained brown or black, or have a broken piece of filling or tooth. Sometimes a cavity will be sensitive to cold or sweets in the earlier stages. If a cavity hurts constantly or severely it is usually a sign of a much bigger problem.

Cavities found early are generally fixed by removing all soft mushy tooth and bonding a tooth colored filling in the space created by the cavity. If a cavity is around a large old filling or has caused a major part of the tooth to break then a crown might be needed to restore the tooth properly.