factors causing tooth decay

Dental Caries Explained: Theories, Causes, and How to Prevent Them

Question 1. Defy dental caries. Enumerate the theories associated with dental caries. Explain different measures in preventing and controlling dental caries.

Answer. “Dental caries is an irreversible progressive microbial disease of the calcified tissues of the teeth, characterized by the demineralization of the inorganic portion and distortion of the organic substances of the tooth, which often leads to cavitation”.

Preventive And Controlling Methods Of Caries

• Chemical measures
• Nutritive measures
• Mechanical measures

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Chemical measures

• Substances that alter the tooth surfaces or tooth structures.
  • Fluorine:
    • It has cariostatic activity
    • Fluorine makes the teeth more resistant to acid attack in the oral cavity.
    • It decreases microbial acid production and enhances the remineralization of underlying enamel.
    • It is given in the form of:
    • Communal water fluoridation
    • Fluoride-containing dentifrices
    • Fluoride mouth rinses
    • Dietary fluoride supplement.

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• • Bis biguanides: Chlorhexidine and alexidine. They are antiplaque agents
  • Silver nitrate
  • Zinc chloride and ferrocyanide
• Substances that interfere with carbohydrate degradation
  through enzymatic alteration:
  • Vitamin K: It prevents acid formation in the mixture of glucose in the saliva.
  • Sarcosine.
• Substances that interfere with bacterial growth and metabolism:
  • Urea and ammonium compounds
  • Chlorophyll
  • Nitrofurans
  • Penicillin.

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Nutritive Measures

• Groups of patients whose diet is high in fat, low in carbohydrate, and practically free from sugar have low caries activity.
• Phosphates diet causes signifiant reduction in indication of caries.

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Mechanical Measures

• Tooth brushing: Tooth brushing reduces the number of oral microorganisms. If the teeth are brushed after each meal.
• Mouth rinsing: The use of mouthwash removes the food debris from the teeth and prevents caries.
• Dental floss: It removes plaque from the area of the gingiva to the contact area on the proximal surfaces of teeth, an area impossible to reach with the toothbrush.
• Detergent foods: Fibrous foods prevent lodging of food in the pits and fissures of the teeth and, in addition, act as a detergent.
• Pit and fissure sealants: The pits and fissures of occlusal surface are most difficult areas on teeth to keep clean, so pits and fissures sealants are generally used.