Any office for general dentistry in Chantilly will tell you that a cavity is a hole in your tooth filled with bacteria. It may appear as a white spot that can be repaired early on, but it will turn into a brown or black patch over time. Preventing cavities is the greatest approach to keeping your teeth healthy.
What Causes Them?
Do you ever feel like your teeth are “fuzzy” after a meal? Do you notice how this hazy feeling goes when you brush and floss? When we don’t brush and floss, germs and things we eat clump together to produce plaque, a sticky material.
Bacteria feed on the things we eat throughout the day. They use sugar in our mouths to survive and produce acid when we consume or drink it. This acid adheres to our teeth and attacks their outer surface. The acid wears down our teeth over time, resulting in a cavity that requires treatment from dental offices like Cascades Dental of Centreville.
How Do Cavities Form?
Enamel is the strong outer layer of our teeth that protects them. The dentin is located underneath the enamel. Dentin is softer than enamel. Cavities are more likely to spread and grow because of this.
The pulp is located underneath the dentin. The tooth’s nerves and blood supply are found here. If a dentist doesn’t fill the cavity at an office for general dentistry in Chantilly, germs can spread from the enamel to the dentin, eventually reaching the pulp. When germs from the cavity enter the pulp, an infection develops.
6134 Redwood Square Centre, Centreville, VA 20121.