Dental Caries
Dental caries
What is tooth decay?
The teeth are coated with a special glaze that protects them from any external aggression. When this layer is disappearing gradually softening its leaves to protect them and allow germs in the mouth that can attack them.
The main culprit of tooth decay is a bacterium called Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans or). This bacterium is transmitted in the saliva of the mother or caregiver to the child during its first 30 months of age and reside in the dentition, so that at least the child should have a tooth for effective transmission to occur. The bacteria feed on sucrose and produces acid as a byproduct, thereby degrading the tooth enamel.
In 1996, scientists at the University of Helsinki found that children without caries, had very low levels of this bacterium.In contrast, children with caries had extremely high concentrations, as 100 times higher.
The cavities in the teeth appear as white spots, deposits of plaque or tartar brown, and can lead to small fractures or cavities.The destruction of the tooth extends spreading the permanent tooth that is still hidden.Once started, it’s about time to spread and attack the entire dentition.
Incidence
It is believed that tooth decay is the most common infectious disease in American children (5 to 8 times more than asthma), with 8.4% of affected children under two years and 40.4% at 5 years. Of these, 47% of children between two and nine years never treated.The cavities in baby teeth is one of the main reasons for hospitalization in children and has a high health costs.
What are its causes?
Several factors can cause tooth decay.The main cause is a diet rich in sugars that help the bacteria eating away the enamel, although depending on the type of sugar, its incidence varies.Other causes include poor dental hygiene, the absence of fluoride in the water and their own genetics, as has been shown to cause tooth decay in some children sensitive despite following prophylactic correct habits.
While the bacteria S.mutans is mainly responsible for caries, found other factors that also show an unexpected correlation with this problem: complications during pregnancy or delivery, premature birth or cesarean delivery, maternal diabetes, renal disease, Rh incompatibility, allergies, frequent gastroenteritis and chronic diarrhea. A diet high in salt and low in iron and pacifier use also seem to favor the development of caries.
Before the first tooth, about half of all children 6 months and are infected with Streptococcus mutans.According to research, at 24 months 84% ??of children had developed a considerable colony. Factors associated with these cases were the intake of sweetened drinks at bedtime, taking too many sweets, snacks between meals, sharing food with adults and a very high presence of these bacteria in the mother. By contrast, the lack of bacteria was associated primarily with regular brushing teeth.
Bottle tooth decay
Once teeth begin to erupt, one of the most common causes of its appearance is called baby bottle tooth decay, caused by frequent contact with milk or juice, especially if you leave the baby with a bottle to bed, using it as a pacifier. If the baby needs a bottle to use as a pacifier, it is imperative that only contains water. Never wet with honey or sugar.
Advances in the treatment of caries
Tooth decay is a disease that especially affects the younger population, but when we arrived at an advanced age, we begin to lose our teeth and oral health are also affected.
Caries has been a subject of concern to experts and research that every day is more about oral health, tooth pastes and methods that promote the prevention of such diseases.
Sometimes it has been to create certain types of toothbrush or products that protect enamel and gums sensitive.The latest invention, is found in the dental microscope , which allows through optical increase vision and find decay in anywhere in our mouth. Read the rest of this entry »
Advances in dental
We know that a smile can be an excellent cover letter or something we can close all doors. So we brush, floss and use regularly visit the dentist. However, dental science has advanced since the days when we dropped the last tooth, but our dentist will know?.
The laser could be casting aside the old machines to take pictures. Diagnostic lasers can reach inaccessible places and even beneath the surface of the tooth, which many x-rays can not do.Only 15 percent of dentists use this technology but we should do all. This and other laser tools will become more popular as professionals learn more about them.
Ozone is making its entry into dentistry. A promising new treatment uses highly reactive oxygen molecules, not only to kill bacteria but to reduce tooth decay. Studies at the University of Belfast showed that teeth exposed to ozone killed 99 percent of viruses and bacteria that make cavities.
Are also developing new toothpastes that are worth mentioning.One has a copper-based compound that inhibits the formation of plaque on the tooth surface for 16 hours and eliminates bad breath. Other calcium-containing liquid that can help restore the enamel tooth brushing. Micro cracks are also filled with calcium and phosphate and prevents unsightly stains.
Treatment of Caries
The procedure used to treat decay depends on the extent of tissue destroyed, but always try to avoid removing the affected part Basically, the technique is to clean the cavity, remove the devitalized tissue and fill the hole with a resilient material.
1 .- After having applied a topical anesthetic on the gum, local anesthetic is administered by injection for the treatment to be painless.
2 .- The dentist must then clean and disinfect the cavity, filing with the volume of damaged tissue and finally to the healthy tooth.
3 .- then made the filling the cavity with a filling, if the crown is very destroyed, artificial sheath is applied.
Did you know that means?
* Sarro Dental hard calcareous concretion, yellow or brown forms and plaque deposits on and adheres strongly to tooth enamel. To remove the tartar, the dentist should undertake a thorough cleaning (tartrectomía).
* Periodontal disease or periodontitis: chronic inflammatory disorder of the tissues around the teeth and are set in the jawbone.
* Gingivitis: Acute or chronic inflammation of the gums.
* Endodontics: therapeutic action necessary when dental decay reaches the pulp and cause infection, popularly referred to as “kill the nerve. First, anesthesia and the crown is drilled to remove the infected pulp is widened root canals and remove the nerve. Once the ducts cleaned and sterilized, the cavity is filled.
* Pulpectomy: Removal of part of the inflamed dental pulp, followed by a filling.
Tooth Decay Tips
Tips to protect from decay:
* Toothpaste is not enough. It is necessary to floss. Mouthwashes are also a great help. Rinse is recommended before bedtime.
* You can forget the dental hygiene at any time of day, so before bedtime. While you sleep your mouth closed about eight hours, enabling environment for the growth of bacteria.
* Diets high in sugars (candy, soda, juice) affect the incidence of caries.
* The cavities also have a genetic factor. Sometimes there are families predisposed to this disease due to the pH of saliva. If you feel that is a common problem in your family, go to the dentist every five months and complete cleanings performed frequently.
Arequipa Papaya fights cavities
One of the most beautiful things a woman is her smile. A healthy smile not only exudes charisma, but is a great indicator of the care for oneself.
However, 99% of people will decay at least once in their life, and for many, a visit to the dentist is a terror. If you are a person who feels he is going to faint on hearing the dentist’s drill by, or who hates to be anesthetized, then there is good news for you!
A project in the Peruvian Catholic University of Santa Maria, Arequipa, has resulted after two years of research, a revolutionary product made from papaya (including the variety called “Arequipa”) that removes decay without to resort to painful and complicated methods.
This product, called Renova Gel Cavities (with an approximate cost of $ 12) softens the tooth so they can be removed by the dentist by hand without using the drill or tooth extraction, avoiding surgery and anesthesia.
The miracles of Arequipa papaya (Carica pubescens)
You may wonder who can have the papaya that allows the removal of caries in this way. Well, this fruit contains an enzyme called papain, a substance that has the ability to break protein molecules (sometimes used to soften the meat when they are hard). Since cavities are colonies of bacteria, ie, living organisms made up of proteins, their structures are destroyed gradually by the action of this enzyme.
Dental Caries

Dental caries is a disease much more expansive than it should, it affects children and adults and causes more embarrassing is the action of sugars. Good hygiene after each meal and food intake are low in sugars are the best allies to prevent this inconvenience, which may lead to the loss of a tooth.
Tooth decay causes the loss or disintegration of the flesh or bone of the teeth, as a result of the action of acid producing bacteria to break down sugars in the diet. We must also bear in mind that foods rich in starch, can cause tooth decay.
When sitting at the table we prefer calcium-rich foods (whole or skim milk), yogurt, cheese, fish with bones (sardines or salmon), watercress, broccoli, almonds, calcium-rich mineral waters and soybeans. We must also include foods rich in vitamin D, which enhance calcium absorption, among them we find the fish, like sardines, herring, tuna, salmon, mackerel and trout.
A New Vaccine Against Dental Caries

A recent report published by the journal Nature Medicine, a group of British scientists has developed a vaccine against dental caries from genetically modified plants snuff. The results obtained in a patient at four months were very encouraging and this has been assumed that the treatment could be available to the public within a few years.
Tooth decay is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus mutans, which produces an acid that coats the teeth and feeds on sugar and other carbohydrates. It affects half of children aged five years and three quarters of adolescents of 17 years. To eradicate this problem, simply cover the teeth with the liquid vaccine has been developed. A few applications provide protection against cavities for at least four months. The active components are antibodies that attach to tooth decay bacteria, preventing them from remaining on the teeth. While these harmful microbes are disappearing, others harmless teeth are installed in preventing the possible presence of other cells of S. mutans.
A Laser “Shields” Against Tooth Decay

Proponents of this new tool underline that 60 and 90% of schoolchildren worldwide dental caries and it is very unlikely to find someone who has not suffered a cavity along his life. In fact, the World Health Organization categorizes decay as most common oral disease with periodontal disease and the most extensive in the world.
The problem is that between 5 and 8% of the surface of dental enamel has a natural porosity that can penetrate the lactic acid bacterial plaque and decay, causing tooth decay.
But from now on, they said, the dreaded visit to the dentist for filling a tooth can be avoided, according to results of scientific research conducted over three years in the past decade and taken up at present, by the Valencian company Stoma Laser Technology on human teeth in vitro.
Dental Caries Location

Resulting in root caries teeth appear as an extension of the crown gear tooth cavity through the CEJ (cementoenamel junction). Or if the root of the tooth has been open since the gum line has come down. Because the layer covering the tooth root cementum not as strong as email at the crown, then a hole in the tooth root process is faster than any other tooth surfaces.
To find out how big the grievances, the dentist will perform dental x-rays to show the depth of caries. If already known, then the dentist can determine the diagnosis and treatment plan.