Conditions Leading to Dental Extractions
Brushing teeth and flossing teeth regularly are the two foundational principles of all counsel on dental health. The other discipline to add to your arsenal to maintain healthy teeth is scheduling a visit to your dentist at least twice a year. The same routine visit to the dentist ought to apply for all in your household, as dental conditions left undiscovered can be very costly to treat.
When one fails to follow the basic habits consistently: brushing, flossing, and that regular dental check up, the teeth are likely to develop certain conditions. When the mouth has food residue consistently, the teeth will develop a cavity. A healthy and properly formed tooth has four layers. The first is the hard white coating obvious to the naked eye. This white coating is tooth enamel and when well formed, it is hard enabling the tooth to bite into hard foods.
Tooth Cavity Exposing the Pulp
The next layer of the tooth is dentine, which is softer than the tooth enamel but hard enough to support the enamel on the surface. The dentine protects the inner section of the tooth filled with blood vessels and a network of nerves. This section of the tooth, the pulp, is extremely sensitive to pain, heat, cold and all other stimuli. When exposed, the teeth become increasingly sensitive and lose their ability to bite into hard, hot, or cold substances. The last part of the tooth is the root connecting the tooth to the rest of the skeleton.
A cavity, as the name suggests is a hole. A cavity forms gradually in a tooth and eventually the enamel no longer covers and protects the dentine properly. At its earliest stages a cavity is barely noticeable. When the cavity continues to dredge into the tooth surface reaching beyond the enamel and past the dentine, then the pulp is exposed.
A cavity deep enough to expose the pulp causes tooth sensitivity in its earlier stages and develops to extreme toothache and possible tooth infection the larger and deeper it becomes. Tooth infection occurs when food particles start to interact with the blood vessels and the nerve network in the pulp. This pulp should never interact with food particles as these introduce germs and bacteria leading to infection.
Gum Disease and Bleeding Gums
If a tooth cavity is too extensive, the dentist may recommend tooth extraction. Tooth extraction entails removing the entire tooth from the root and leaving a gaping hole where the tooth once was. A tooth extraction is a major surgical procedure and requires the services of a professional dentist. Another condition common in those who do not maintain a regular habit of brushing and flossing their teeth is gum disease. An increase in bacteria in the mouth causes the tooth and gums to develop infections.
The earliest symptom of gum disease is inflammation and bleeding around the base of the tooth on the gums. If teeth are too diseased and can no longer hold in the gums, a dentist may have little choice than to perform tooth extractions. The best way to avoid this irreversible dental procedure is to take the habits of brushing teeth and flossing teeth daily very seriously.