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How Do Cavities Form? - The Hidden Causes Of Cavities You Need To Know

Sep 14, 2020

Oral diseases are the most common noncommunicable diseases. They can affect anyone at any age, causing discomfort, pain, disfigurement, or even death.

How do cavities form? Namely, sugar causes bacteria to build up against your teeth and gums, allowing cavities to form. However, sugar is only one culprit that can affect your teeth.

Asking yourself, "Why do I keep getting cavities?" Keep reading to discover the nine hidden causes of cavities. With this guide, you can lower your risk of developing cavities.

Keep your smile bright and healthy! Avoid these nine causes of cavities and brush up on proper oral hygiene with these tips.

1. Medicines

We take medicines to maintain our health. Unfortunately, certain medications can also jeopardize your oral hygiene. You might not realize how much sugar is in the medicines you're taking.

Here are two types of medicines you might want to evaluate if you're asking, "How do cavities form?"

Chewable Vitamins

Chewable vitamins can cause you to develop cavities. While vitamins contain nutrients meant to keep you healthy, their form is the issue. Chewable vitamins and sticky and sugary, which are as harmful to your teeth as actual candies.

Chewable vitamins can stick to your teeth. The longer they cling to the surface of your teeth and your gums, the more likely that sugar will cause bacteria to spread. Remember, bacteria cause cavities.

Instead of taking chewable vitamins, take your vitamins in pill form.

If you have kids, they might protest against taking pills. Try to look for a sugar-free vitamin solution for your children instead.

Cough Medicine

Are you sneezing, coughing, or feeling congested each day? Most people reach for cough syrup or throat lozenges. Unfortunately, both cause you to experience cavity symptoms.

Cough drops and cough syrup are both bad for your teeth.

These medicinal options contain a lot of sugar or high fructose corn syrups. Both ingredients can impact your oral health.

If you do take these forms of medicine, make sure to brush your teeth immediately afterward. Taking your medicine right before bed can cause the sugar to linger against your teeth and gums, slowly causing erosion.

Make sure to brush your teeth after using cough syrup. Try to look for sugar-free throat lozenges and cough syrups the next time you have a cold.

2. Your Diet

You are what you eat! The foods you eat each day could cause you to notice symptoms of a cavity, including:

Toothache
Spontaneous pain
Tooth sensitivity
Mild to sharp pain when you eat or drink something hot or cold
Visible holes or pits in your teeth
White, black, or brown staining against the surface of a tooth
Pain when you bite down

Tooth decay is actually four times more common in minors than asthma.

To keep your family's teeth healthy and cavity-free, try avoiding these foods that can contribute to cavity formation.

If you notice unwanted white marks on your teeth, try these tips.

Hard Seltzer

Keep an eye out for any drinks that contain high levels of sugar, such as hard seltzer.

Carbonated drinks decrease the pH levels in your mouth. A lower pH level will create an acidic oral environment in your mouth. The acid causes your enamel to become more vulnerable to bacteria.

Alcoholic drinks can also dry out your mouth, which stops saliva production. Salivary flow can help keep a healthy stream of nutrients to your oral tissues.

Make sure to stay hydrated as you drink these beverages. The water can increase saliva production and rinse your mouth.

Wine

When you drink red wine, you might notice your teeth become stained purple. Red wine, along with coffee and tea, contains tannins, acids, and chromogens. These three components cause your teeth to stain.

White wine has even more acid, which can cause more staining than red wine.

The high acid level can break down minerals in your teeth, like calcium, that otherwise keep your enamel from eroding.

While white wine won't stain your teeth, the tannins and acids can make your tooth enamel more porous. As a result, your teeth will become more susceptible to absorbing color from other foods and drinks.

Make sure to brush your teeth after drinking a glass of wine. You can also curb some of the damage by eating cheese along with the wine. The calcium in cheese helps strengthen your tooth enamel against the wine's acidity.

Cheese also helps your mouth produce more saliva, which can protect you from decay-causing bacteria.

Here are eight more habits that can end up staining your teeth.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Mulled wine, hot cider, and pumpkin spice lattes all contain high sugar content. You're also likely to sip these drinks over a long period of time. Drinking these beverages can increase the acidity in your mouth.

Plus, the sugar will coat your teeth and cause erosion.

When the acidity level increases, your enamel will soften. This can leave your teeth more vulnerable to wear, bacterial invasion, and erosion.

Kombucha

Kombucha is becoming more popular. While the antioxidants and probiotics are good for your gut, the fermented, fizzy beverage is also very acidic.

The high acidity can cause enamel erosion as well as decoloration.

Don't brush your teeth immediately following an acidic substance. Brushing could remove your softened enamel. Instead, rinse your teeth with water.

Turmeric

Turmeric is a delicious spice that reduces inflammation. However, the highly pigmented spice can cause your teeth to yellow and stain.

Make sure to rinse your teeth using water after eating anything with turmeric.

Dried Fruit

Be wary of eating sugar-heavy foods like dried fruit.

Some fresh fruits can actually support your oral health. Dried fruit, on the other hand, is full of non-cellulose fiber and sugar. This fiber traps sugar against your teeth and gums the same way chewable vitamins do.

Try to eat fibrous fruit like pears and apples instead. These fruits have high water content levels. The water will help dilute the negative effects of sugars in the fruit.

3. Older Age

Age can also cause you to develop symptoms of a cavity.

There are a few reasons cavities become more common with age. For example, you might start taking a prescription medication that can cause your mouth to dry out. Remember, saliva helps rinse your mouth out of harmful sugars.

As you age, your gums will also start to recede. This can leave your teeth more vulnerable to cavities.

4. Excess Brushing

That's right: brushing too much can cause you to experience cavity symptoms.

Brushing too much and too hard can wear the protective enamel on your teeth down. With time, this can leave your teeth vulnerable to bacteria, which will cause decay.

If it feels like your teeth aren't clean even with normal brushing, make sure to speak with your dentist. They can evaluate your teeth to determine the issue. Otherwise, try not to brush too hard.

5. Genetics

Genetics can also leave you susceptible to cavities. For example, you might inherit enamel issues or deep tooth crevices. Both can contribute to cavity development.

There are different ways genetics play a role in tooth decay. For one, your sweet tooth could cause you to develop a preference for candy and sugary snacks. Eating too much sugar can cause you to develop tooth decay.

Some people are also born with softer tooth enamel than others. When your enamel is soft, it's easier for bacteria to dig in and cause cavities.

Your taste ability can leave you genetically predisposed to certain flavors. As a result, you might prefer foods that contribute to cavities.

Strong, healthy teeth require calcium, potassium, and other elements to fight off decay. Some gene variants can change your saliva.

Lastly, your microbiome contributes to the bacteria in your body.

Healthy bacteria can help you fight off cavity-causing bacteria.

6. Tooth Grinding

Do you tend to grind your teeth? You might use teeth grinding to deal with stress. Unfortunately, tooth grinding can strip away the outer layer of your tooth enamel, which contributes to tooth decay.

You can prevent your tooth grinding by wearing a nightguard.

7. Dry Mouth Issues

Saliva helps inhibit the growth of plaque. If you have a dry mouth condition, it can leave you at a higher risk for developing cavities. Dry mouth is caused by genetics, some medical conditions like diabetes, and certain medications.

8. Enamel Issues

Enamel issues and deep crevices in your teeth can leave you likely to develop issues. The deep crevices give bacteria and plaque easy access for growth.

Dental sealants can prevent tooth decay if you have enamel issues or deep tooth crevices.

9. Poor Oral Hygiene

16.9% of children and 31.6% of adults have untreated dental caries (cavities). Constant poor oral hygiene habits play a big part in your oral health. If you're not brushing your teeth regularly, you could end up experiencing cavity symptoms.

Make sure to brush for at least two minutes twice a day. And try using an electric toothbrush.

How Do Cavities Form?: 9 Hidden Causes of Cavities to Consider

To recap, how do cavities form? Bacteria buildup and enamel erosion can harm your teeth, leaving you at the risk of developing cavities. Keep track of these hidden causes of cavities to improve your oral health.

Keep your oral hygiene at its best! Book an appointment with our staff today to keep your teeth white and healthy.

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Dr. Ehab Daas

Meet your doctor

Dr. Ehab is a passionate dentist with 15 years of dental experience. He received his D.D.S in 1997, and has practiced dentistry for 6 years since then. Immediately after that, Dr. Da'as moved to Paris to get his Orthodontics and Prosthodontic diploma's in which he specialized in fixed bridges and crowns. He graduated from France with remarkable achievements in 2005, and went on to work for 9 years, focusing on difficult orthodontics cases and satisfying his ortho patients. Dr. Ehab moved to Canada in 2014 to continue his career, where he is proud and extremely honoured to provide his patients with the highest quality service.

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