Why do teeth have holes?

A friend found a dentist with a toothache. When the dentist examined his mouth, he exclaimed, "Oh dear! Your tooth cavity is the biggest, the biggest I have ever seen. The friend said angrily, "You don't have to repeat it! The dentist replied, "I didn't." This is the echo of the cavity. "

Well ... speaking of tooth decay, many friends say that I brush my teeth twice a day and seldom eat sweets. Why is there a small hole in my tooth, and it's dark. Sometimes eating can plug my teeth, but it doesn't hurt? Why? Why do teeth have holes? Can these small holes do harm to the body? ?

Let me explain it to you one by one.

Why do teeth have holes?

Simply put, there are holes in teeth, which are actually caused by tooth decay. In fact, tooth decay is that the food residue in our mouth contains sugar, which adheres to the teeth and ferments with bacteria to produce acid. Acid slowly erodes teeth and gradually forms tooth decay.

More technically, it is the host (that is, our teeth)+pathogenic bacteria+oral environment (food residue)+enough time = tooth decay. Only when these four elements are met at the same time will there be holes in the teeth.

Then why do I seldom eat sugar, or will it be like this?

There are four other factors that cause tooth decay, including: food, bacteria (composition and proportion of dental caries-causing bacteria), teeth (composition and structure), and time (time for food to stay on the surface of teeth). The food factor is not just sugar. Besides candy, biscuits, cakes, bread, milk, meat and vegetables, and drinks, the rice steamed bread we eat is also a food factor of tooth decay. It can be said that almost all foods that can decompose to produce sugar may cause tooth decay if they stay on the surface of teeth with a large number of caries-causing bacteria for a long time. Therefore, even if you don't like sugar, if you don't brush your teeth cleanly, there will be many caries-causing bacteria in your mouth, which will also lead to tooth decay.

The first condition for the formation of dental cavities is stubborn dental plaque (group A), which is a "bacterial colony" attached to the tooth surface. When we don't remove food residues in time after each meal, these "flora" in dental plaque will react with "sugar or starch" in food to produce an acidic substance. When the "acidic substance" discharged by metabolism exceeds a certain level, it will corrode teeth and lead to demineralization of teeth. When demineralization reaches a certain level, the tooth surface will be corroded into a hole, that is, tooth decay. If you don't get rid of the "rotten tissue" and "pathogenic bacteria" in the decayed tooth and make it up, the decayed tooth will get bigger and bigger, and it is very likely that you will eventually lose this tooth, and you will regret it then.

In addition to tooth decay, dental plaque (team B) will also form dental calculus, which will lead to oral problems such as redness and swelling of gums, bad breath and bleeding from brushing teeth, so I won't go into details here.

Seeing this, maybe you should ask me: I brush my teeth carefully every day, why can't I clean up the plaque? There are three reasons:

1) Incorrect brushing method: Brush your teeth carelessly every day, resulting in the toothbrush not being in close contact with dental plaque. Finally, "plaque" teeth are laughing at your innocence, hehe.

2) There are always places that can't be brushed: the toothbrush is so big, the mouth is so complicated, there are always places that the toothbrush can't touch, and dental plaque is hiding there for a party.

3) "Chemical weapons" are ineffective: physical "friction" alone can not completely wipe off dental plaque, and more oral chemical weapons (mouthwash, professional fluoride coating agent and efficacy toothpaste) are needed.

What about tooth decay?

If it is not serious, simply remove the rotten tooth tissue and make it up; If it is serious, root canal treatment is needed.