Dental health: How to keep tooth holes, decay at bay

Strong and healthy teeth help us in chewing the right foods to live a healthy life. But the tooth can be harmful not only to the mouth but the entire body if infected. One of such is dental caries, also known as tooth decay. This is a breakdown of teeth due to activities of bacteria. […]

Strong and healthy teeth help us in chewing the right foods to live a healthy life.
But the tooth can be harmful not only to the mouth but the entire body if infected. One of such is dental caries, also known as tooth decay. This is a breakdown of teeth due to activities of bacteria.
A dental surgeon, Dr. Lojede Oluseye said the most common tooth infection is dental caries adding that there is also the one called the abridge cavity which comes as  result of the tooth’s surface, food substrate and bacteria.
He said the mouth accommodates bacteria that help it to function well explaining that they are created to be there to convert food to acid.
Dr. Lojede said no matter what a person eats , the bacteria acts upon it and converts it to acid, saying it is easier for them to convert refined foods like sweet, chocolate and biscuit to acid but these are not the main cause of caries as people believe.
He explained that these bacteria have a more convenient place to go into when the holes are created in the teeth and when it is not treated at that stage it progresses. "Immediately they create holes in your tooth, food will be stored there and you will be uncomfortable while chewing, when you take cold drink, it can shock you and you may sometimes experience  slight pain."
He said when it is discovered at this stage it can be cleaned by a dentist and treated; then, it can still be saved but if not treated it can be lost.
On the complications of tooth decay, he said the problem of the tooth is that it is not able to produce new cells when it gets to maturity stage unlike the skin that produces new cells at any stage ,"that is why we normally recommend medium or soft bristle brush for brushing. Hard toothbrush should actually be banned. They should not market it again,” he said.
Dr. Lojede said prompt response to treatment is needed to save a tooth so that the bacteria will not eat into the enamel which is the softer layer saying “But many Nigerians prefer to wait till they are having pain before they complain.”
The dentist said the last option for tooth problem is extraction saying that though they try as much as possible not to extract a tooth.
“There are teeth that can still be saved but it costs more to save a tooth than to extract it. To save a tooth, the manpower has to be ideal and the dentist must have the necessary equipment to save it. It cost more for a dentist to even have the tool and the treatment.”
Dr. Lojede advised people to visit their dentist for proper checkup and cleaning and also brush at least twice a day. However, he added that no amount of cleaning will detect hidden plaque except with the aid of dentist tools.