Experiencing tooth pain with difficulties when eating ? Maybe one of your teeth or your child’s have started showing a cavity ? You might need to consult because it can be a case of tooth decay.
Call our dental clinic in Addis Ababa to book an examination and get some help with your tooth decay issue.
What is tooth decay (dental caries) ?
We talk about tooth decay, also known as dental caries or simply cavities, when a tooth or teeth are destroyed due to acids produced by oral bacteria. Dental caries can affect children’s baby teeth, wisdom teeth as well as permanent teeth.
Related : Dental Restoration Treatment for tooth decay in Addis Ababa : Dental fillings
Symptoms of dental caries
Tooth decay symptoms can include :
- Spontaneous tooth pain without any apparent cause
- Toothache when eating, when taking sweet, spicy foods, taking cold drink or other hot beverages
- Pain when biting
- Persistent bad breath and foul taste
- Distinguishable yellow to black color holes or cavities in your teeth
- White or dark brown stains on the tooth or teeth
- Tooth hypersensitivity
Aggravating factors and Complications
Aggravating factors of carious lesions may include (but are not limited to) :
- Inflammation on the gum or the tissues around the decayed teeth
- Dental abscesses formation
- Tooth infection with pocket of pus
- Tooth swelling
- Broken or damaged tooth
- Tooth loss
The causes of dental caries
Dental caries are caused by cariogenic bacterias. These bacterias appear as microorganisms on the tooth surface where food and refined sugar accumulates to form dental plaque. They can also be located in the gaps and pits between teeth, where toothbrushes cannot reach and where pieces of food accumulate.
The bacterias produce acids that attack the teeth, dissolve their hard tissues (enamel and dentin) and break them down.
The bacterias demineralize your teeth by consuming the fermentable food debris accumulated in the dental plaque and coming from milk (also mother milk for babies), table sugar, bread, candies, cakes and cookies, snacks and crackers, potato chips, fruity drinks, cereals, and a large variety of chemical or industrial foods.
Therefore, the cariogenic bacterias are favored by poor teeth cleaning habits and questionable dental hygiene.
You start experiencing tooth pain when the dental pulp tissues, the area of the teeth which contains tooth nerves and blood vessels, are touched by the infection.
Tooth decay treatments in Addis Ababa
At the dental clinic
The tooth decay treatment at the clinic is painless and can sometimes involve the use of local anesthetics like nitrous oxide also known as laughing gas.
Depending on the extent of the demineralization damages done to the teeth by the tooth decay disease, treatments can vary from :
- Non-operative treatments
Prescription of antibacterial mouth rises, Reduction of the consumption of simple sugar and all the food types cited above, improvement of oral hygiene habits especially brushing and flossing rhythms, the use of particular toothpastes rich in topical fluoride that helps regenerate the teeth and preserve the tooth structure.
- Operative treatments
Dental restorations. The dental professional may use fillings, veneers, dental bridges and dental crowns (using dental amalgam, composite resin, porcelain, sometimes gold) to repair your damaged tooth if applicable.
Tooth extraction and replacement. If the tooth restoration is not possible because of very extensive decay, the dentist may proceed to the removal of the decayed tooth and its replacement using dental implants and crowns.
At home
Dental caries require a professional treatment by a qualified dentist. However, when they cause dental emergencies in the middle of the night like severe to extreme tooth pain preventing you from sleeping, you might need to calm down the pain.
Take some ibuprofen or paracetamol in order to calm the tooth nerve pain before going to a teeth hospital in Addis Ababa later in the day.
Treatments of cavities involve complete tooth disinfection, cleaning of the tooth surrounding areas, sometimes root canal treatment and finally dental restoration or tooth removal.
Since a person may not have the means and right tools like dental drills or handpiece to perform all these procedures at home, it is advised to visit a dental clinic to get treated by a professional dentist once and for all.
Are you having one or more of the symptoms of cavities ? Our dental clinic in Addis Ababa is open to examine and treat you. Call to request an appointment.
Prevention tooth decay
Having appropriate oral and dental hygiene can greatly help you avoid tooth decay and cavities. Our dentists have listed here some tips and advice to help you prevent dental caries.
1. Brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste and floss after meals and before bed
Brushing your teeth and tongue regularly helps you remove the food that accumulates on your teeth surface and prevents your tooth enamel from being attacked by the oral cavity bacterias full of energy.
Flossing also has the same effect but it provides protection to the grooves and pits between your teeth and helps you avoid invisible interproximal caries.
In addition, fluoride toothpaste protects and strengthens your teeth enamel by remineralizing them.
2. Visit a dental clinic in Addis Ababa
Getting regular professional teeth cleaning and oral examinations help you prevent tooth diseases and spot them early. Your dentist in Addis Ababa will help you find the appropriate schedule for your dental health needs.
3. Reduce snacks and industrial juices
Eating snacks and drinking fruit juices regularly between foods consists in giving a constant source of energy to the bacterias in your mouth throughout the day. By keeping feeding the bacterias like that you encourage the destruction of your own teeth.
4. Eat favorable foods for teeth
Foods that dry your mouth, get stuck inside the pits of your teeth and which stick to your teeth are threatful to your oral health. Prefer foods that slide on teeth and favors saliva production in mouth like fresh fruits and green vegetables, milk for its calcium and sugar-free coffee and tea (with moderation).
5. Use antimicrobial rinse periodically
Depending on your mouth health situation and the probability that you develop tooth decay, your dentists may recommend you a special antibacterial mouthwash to decrease the amount of bacterias in your oral cavity.
6. Drink tap water from time to time
Tap water contains fluoride in opposition to bottled water which greatly helps in the prevention of cavities. Drinking only bottled water is depriving yourself from fluoride benefits on your teeth.
7. If possible, use electric toothbrush
Electric toothbrushes are more efficient than manual toothbrushes at removing dental plaque, so it can be an interesting measure for cavities prevention.
If you feel like you or your child is facing a case of tooth decay, please Call to request an appointment for an examination.
