- Children’s teeth are soft until about age 10.
- A tooth with a crown can get a cavity.
- Your gum tissue is as important as your teeth.
- Some prescription meds can increase your risk of cavities.
- Some home faucet water filters remove fluoride.
- 19 percent of kids between the ages of 2 and 19 have untreated decay.
- Heartburn can be bad for teeth.
- Allergies can cause tooth grinding.
- Dried fruit is just as adverse for teeth as sticky candy.
- Tooth enamel cannot repair itself, though dentin and cementum (the substance that surrounds the tooth root) are capable of partial regeneration.
- A Harvard-led team used low-powered lasers to activate stem cells and stimulate the growth of teeth in rats and human dental tissue in a lab. 1
- There are about 300 types of bacteria in your mouth.
- Chewing sugarless gum after meals can help remove food particles on your teeth. You still need to brush, but if you can’t brush immediately after meals, sugarless gum can help keep your teeth clean.
- Cavities often don’t cause pain until they have reached the root and nerve of the tooth. Visit your dentist regularly to prevent cavities or at least to detect them when they are small.
- Bone recession can cause tooth loss even if no decay is present.
I am Doctor Gina McCray of St. Mary’s Dental. I hope you have found today’s post interesting and perhaps even learned something new about your amazing teeth and some of the lesser-known risk factors for decay.
1 http://www.businessinsider.com/laser-stem-cell-tooth-tissue-regeneration-2014-5#ixzz3fzlosJDMTooth
Contact St. Mary’s Dental:
301-884-3248
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
28169 Old Village Rd
Mechanicsville, Maryland
20659
