Caries Control & Dental Treatment Plan

The main cause of tooth decay (carious lesion) is plaque bacteria that secrete acids that destroy tooth enamel.

Caries appears on the teeth after they erupt and appear in the oral cavity. The main cause of tooth decay is plaque bacteria, which secrete acids that destroy tooth enamel. First, black dots and spots on the tooth enamel appear, then caries deepens and a carious cavity appears.

At this point, a person begins to worry about how painful his/her tooth reacts to cold, hot, sweet, sour foods, and drinks. Also, the patient may notice inflammation of the gums near the tooth, unpleasant odor, bleeding during brushing, the formation of plaque, and stone.

All these unpleasant symptoms arise due to the fact that the appeared carious cavity is filled with food debris that a person cannot clean out on his/her own. Plaque bacteria multiply and secrete acids, and then caries worsens. The closer the caries is located to the nerve, the more pain the person fees.

Often patients ask: doctor, is it possible to do without “drilling”?

Treatment of caries without a drill is possible only in the very initial stage when a stain only appears on the tooth. At this point, tooth decay can be treated by saturating enamel with fluoride and calcium preparations. The remineralization procedure is carried out after cleansing the teeth from the summer and stones.

Unfortunately, most often patients go to the doctor at a time when one can’t do without a drill. In this case, it is necessary to completely clean the tooth from caries in order to prevent its further destruction.

In some cases, especially if caries is formed between the teeth, or if there is caries under an old filling, the doctor needs an X-ray. It will show the depth of caries and its proximity to the nerve of the tooth.

An example of the dental treatment plan for caries is as follows:

• anesthesia;
• cleansing the tooth of plaque and stones;
• isolation from saliva by a rubber dam system (rubber “scarf”), which is a guarantee of the quality of treatment. The filling material ideally rests only on a completely dry tooth surface. If saliva or moisture in the exhaled air gets on the tooth, the material will not “stick” to the tooth;
• preparation of affected tissues;
• tooth restoration with filling material;
• grinding by smoothness, grinding by bite, polishing with special pastes.

Should I treat caries if I have no pain?

Often, patients are confident that dental treatment of caries is not required until the tooth becomes to ache and cause inconvenience. But such a position can be considered erroneous and dangerous because caries is not just a problem but a disease that requires immediate treatment, otherwise, you may encounter very serious consequences.

Why it is necessary to treat caries even if you have no pain?

When teeth are affected by caries, you may have pain at the most inopportune moment. Imagine the situation: you have a vacation, and you are going to visit another country or are already there, either left for another city or wanted to breathe in nature, and the nearest dental clinic is a few hours away from you, and your tooth is sore, your cheek is swelling, and you have no drugs to relieve the symptom.

Of course, it would be better to treat teeth at the initial stage of caries until they get inflamed, before the onset of acute pain or even a cyst. The current situation requires an urgent search for a dentist. Naturally, if you are in a foreign country, the cost of services will be much higher.
One of the important reasons why treating caries when the teeth are not sore is very necessary – the possible consequences of a non-timely treatment.

What happens in the oral cavity when a bad tooth is not treated:

• Caries spreads to healthy teeth and you can lose the entire dentition;
• This is accompanied by inflammatory processes in the body;
• The stomach and cardiovascular system suffer;
• A cyst forms that can lead to blood poisoning or cancer

Besides, you will get an unpleasant bad breath, psychological problems (a person feels insecure, stressed), which are caused by an unaesthetic appearance of the dentition. That is why it is necessary to treat teeth even if they don’t hurt or cause discomfort.

If caries cannot be prevented or avoided, it is necessary to treat it when the first signs appear, without delaying a visit to a specialist. Moreover, thanks to modern dentistry, dental treatment can be painless. How? Modern dentists use medical sedation. All the procedures are monitored by an anesthetist, and you will not experience any pain, fear, or discomfort.

Early treatment is faster and cheaper

Treatment of caries at the initial stage does not require the use of anesthesia since the procedure is painless, and the filling cost will be less due to the use of a small amount of material. In addition, you will spend much less time: the dentist will fill a small hole in the tooth for 15-30 minutes. It all depends on the condition of the dentition and the degree of complexity of the operations.

Now you have learned why caries should be treated even if you have no pain. It is possible to prevent serious diseases of the oral cavity and keep the dentition healthy for many years if you get a dental diagnosis and treatment planning on time. And you cannot neglect the rules of hygiene and preventive check-ups. The beauty of your smile is up to you!