How Does a Tooth Decay?
For many people, the thought of having dentures makes them follow their dentists’ orders and brush their teeth regularly. However, it’s still important to know how teeth decay in the first place. Each tooth has three layers. The center of the tooth is where the blood vessels and nerves are. It’s called the pulp. The dentin is the middle layer of the tooth. The part that you see is the enamel.
Tooth decay involves damage to the tooth when bacteria, or germs, in your mouth make acids. These acids actually eat away at your tooth’s enamel until there is a hole. This hole is a cavity. The tooth decay causes symptoms like infection, tooth loss and pain.
How a Tooth Decays
Step 1: The Beginning
You start by eating food or drinking a beverage with acid. Plaque, which contains, bacteria, forms on your teeth. This creates an acidic environ…
How Smoking Effects Your Mouth
Why Go to the Dentist Every 6 Months?
The rule that you should see a dentist every 6 months is generic advice. Depending on your health, dental hygiene, and other factors, you may need to see the dentist more frequently. In rare cases where there are no dental or health concerns, you may be able to reduce your visits to once a year.
Why See a Dentist at All?Your dentist does more than examine and clean your teeth. The regular dental examination is used to check your lymph nodes, the condition of your lower jaw, and to check your mouth and tongue for diseases that could affect your teeth. The more serious the condition of your teeth and mouth, the more often you will need a checkup.
There are 3 Parts to Your Checkup:
Head and Neck Examination. This includes an examination of your face and neck, including your lower jaw joints, lymph nodes, and to screen for oral cancer or indications of …The Good and Bad of Teeth Whitening
Cosmetic dentistry experienced a renaissance in the 1980s as more and more Americans purchased do-it-yourself products to bleach their teeth. Americans now spend approximately 15 billion dollars annually on over-the-counter products and professional tooth whitening services.
The Rising Popularity of Teeth Whitening
The Food and Drug Administration claims that whitening restores the tooth's natural sheen whereas bleaching whitens beyond the natural tooth's color. That said, most people consider tooth whitening and tooth bleaching to be virtually synonymous terms.
Teeth whitening is now the most sought after procedure in cosmetic dentistry. Americans spend tens of billions of dollars every year in efforts to improve their smiles. In fact, over 100 million Americans, or approximately one out of every three people you see, are reported to make an effort to whi…