Life is short, Smile when you still have teeth.
Ever wondered about the number of caries being more than your family and friends assiduous of your oral hygiene.
Dental caries being most prevalent infectious disease affects more than 97% population in their life time .It is induced by accumulation of bio film on the tooth surface which further leads to demineralization and destruction of the tooth surface.
Dental caries has a multi factorial scenario and our oral cavity is home for many micro organisms most of which are not harmful, only on exponential increase they can lead to dental decay. Micro organism responsible for dental caries is Mutant streptococci.
Some of the populations are more susceptible to dental caries, thus hereditary is a prime reason, in predicting who might get commonly affected.
Diet is another contributory factor that leads to dental caries, caries causing organisms have affinity towards sugar, sucrose being the primary energy source. The micro organisms metabolizes the sugar from the sugary and starchy foods into lactic acid that leads to demineralization and destruction of the tooth surface. It is the frequency of the sugar exposure in ones diet that leads to caries not the quantity.
Tooth morphology and deep grooves on the tooth surface of the teeth are more susceptible to dental caries as they entrap the bio film and can be difficult to remove.
The composition and consistency of the saliva also plays an important role, the more saliva present in our oral cavity the better. It acts as a "natural debridement", thus cleans the teeth surfaces from the caries causing micro organisms, whenever there is change in consistency of saliva from flowy to viscous, effective cleaning is inhibited.
Whenever the oral cavity is subjected to pH lower than 5.5 , it initiates demineralization. remineralization is influenced by salivary minerals , if pH of your saliva is acidic then it leads to erosion of the enamel surface.
Negligence of oral hygiene is also a contributory factor in caries progression. The oral care regimen must be performed daily and regularly to keep the caries under control.
These are just some factors that Initiates caries progression and ultimately cavities. The diet oral hygiene regimen is controllable whereas strains of bacterial infection, tooth morphology and salivary flow is less controllable, regardless one can see why some people are more prone to dental caries.
Dr. Sachdeva's dental institute is counseling and encouraging their patients about how to maintain a good oral health by regular use of " brush and floss", this activity reduces the impact of local factors which helps to keep caries in control and are following a systemic protocol of 6 monthly reminder for patients to come for regular dental checkup.
