Let's talk about something educational shall we?
Often I see patient and they complaint to me about the hole in their tooth although they have been brushing regularly as long as they can remember.
Let me state here, toothbrushing is not the only preventive measure for dental caries (decay)
There are many reasons why you still get hole in your tooth although you've been brushing consistently all this while
1. Your brushing method is not efficient - some people tend to brush more on their front teeth rather than concentrating on the back teeth. Most decay are more susceptible on the back teeth because of the tooth morphology (shape). Other people would simply brush the area that they can only see, and miss other surfaces. Here is the tip : be organize when brushing, say start from the upper right side of the mouth, then move to the lower part. from this method, you'll minimize missing tooth surfaces. Use small head toothbrush so that you can reach the further back tooth. Remember, normally the last tooth is wisdom tooth and you want to avoid any caries on this tooth by all means as the extraction of this tooth would be the hardest one.
2. You don't floss - some food from your diet will trap interproximally i.e in between your teeth. Brushing alone is unlikely to remove this as the brush could reach this area. Therefore, you'll need to floss, at least once a day. If you don't know the appropriate technique for flossing, ask your dentist or dental hygienist.
3. Your diet is high of sugar - although you brush your teeth every 3 hours, it is not sufficient if most of your meal is Mars Bar. High sugar food esp. the one in the sticky form lowers the pH in your mouth, and even if you brush the mouth will need time to buffer the environment. Overtime, if the condition continues, you'll likely get dental decay.
4. You drink carbonated drink/juice every chance you've got. This habit would also lower the pH in your mouth. Together with dental decay, you'll also easily get erosion, what a package!
5. You never go see dentist unless the pain is sufficient enough to make you awake at night. well, it would be too bad then :(. See dentist regularly, once in 6 months is recommended
Often I see patient and they complaint to me about the hole in their tooth although they have been brushing regularly as long as they can remember.
Let me state here, toothbrushing is not the only preventive measure for dental caries (decay)
There are many reasons why you still get hole in your tooth although you've been brushing consistently all this while
1. Your brushing method is not efficient - some people tend to brush more on their front teeth rather than concentrating on the back teeth. Most decay are more susceptible on the back teeth because of the tooth morphology (shape). Other people would simply brush the area that they can only see, and miss other surfaces. Here is the tip : be organize when brushing, say start from the upper right side of the mouth, then move to the lower part. from this method, you'll minimize missing tooth surfaces. Use small head toothbrush so that you can reach the further back tooth. Remember, normally the last tooth is wisdom tooth and you want to avoid any caries on this tooth by all means as the extraction of this tooth would be the hardest one.
2. You don't floss - some food from your diet will trap interproximally i.e in between your teeth. Brushing alone is unlikely to remove this as the brush could reach this area. Therefore, you'll need to floss, at least once a day. If you don't know the appropriate technique for flossing, ask your dentist or dental hygienist.
3. Your diet is high of sugar - although you brush your teeth every 3 hours, it is not sufficient if most of your meal is Mars Bar. High sugar food esp. the one in the sticky form lowers the pH in your mouth, and even if you brush the mouth will need time to buffer the environment. Overtime, if the condition continues, you'll likely get dental decay.
4. You drink carbonated drink/juice every chance you've got. This habit would also lower the pH in your mouth. Together with dental decay, you'll also easily get erosion, what a package!
5. You never go see dentist unless the pain is sufficient enough to make you awake at night. well, it would be too bad then :(. See dentist regularly, once in 6 months is recommended
