If you want to keep your teeth for life, it will be helpful to know enemies of your teeth. Controlling those means you get to keep your teeth healthier for years to come. That means fewer visits to your dentist, less emergencies, and more money in your pocket.
Enemy #1: Gum Disease
Most people have some degree of gum disease, also called periodontitis. It is a chronic disease around your teeth. Bacteria around your teeth and under the gum tissue where your tooth brush and floss usually cannot get to are the ones that are responsible.
Enemy #2: Tooth Decays
This is obvious one. Many of us experienced the decays sometime in our lives. Tooth decays are caused by bacteria that are growing around your teeth (usually between teeth or pits and fissures on biting surfaces of teeth). Simply, they will eat sugar (yes, one in coffee, soft drink and even fruit juice) and then produce lactic acid as a by-product. Then this acid will dissolve the calcium in teeth to make a hole in your teeth, and around your filling, your crown and bridges.
Enemy #3: Large Filling
This is related to your previous decays. When dentists put the fillings to fix your cavities, often the fillings became larger. Large fillings can break or crack your teeth much more readily than smaller fillings. If you have a filling that cover 1⁄2 of the tooth width, you are more likely to break that tooth.
Enemy #4: Bite
This is not so obvious one. Most people don’t realize that how their teeth fit together can affect the health of their teeth. Bite problems cause excess wear, chipping, crack and fractures of the teeth. Did you know that squeezing teeth together can produce 3-4 times heavier pressure on your teeth than force produced by normal chewing? If your teeth have been worn down noticeably last 5 years or so, you are more likely suffer from this problem. Also if you have a pain while eating or chewing or if you have unexplained headaches, often you may be suffering from this problem.
Next time, I will discuss 4 weapons to fight back these four enemies of your teeth. Meanwhile your dentist can help you fight them so don’t forget to see them regularly.
