Are you having a toothache? Or do you experience a tooth fracture while eating? If your answer’s, “Yes”, you should consult a dentist for complete tooth inspection. That’s because you may be having a problem of caries which is quite hard to locate.
Teeth are important parts of our body and they’re very sensitive too, they’re constantly exposed to bacteria and viruses and we need to take care of them like we do to other parts of the body.
Do you happen to eat too many candies, chocolates, beetle nuts or chew tobacco more often? Do you know how your tooth decays, what causes it to fracture and why? If yes, you should read the following lines compiled with the help of experienced Arborg family dentists. You can visit Arborg Family Dental and find out their weekly timings.
So, let’s come back to the diseases called caries. Following are the few symptoms which are characterized into different stages.
Symptoms of Caries
A person experiencing caries may not be aware of the disease.
- Earliest Sign of Caries
The earliest signs of a new carious lesion appear n the tooth with a chalky white spot. These white spots indicate an area of demineralization of enamel. There are different names of this process; such as microcavity, white spot lesion, or incipient carious lesion.
- Second Stage
As the de-mineralization continues, it turns to brown and transforms into cavity. But before this stage, the process can be reversed through dental care. You can have a complete checkup at any of the dental clinics in Arborg, before this particular stage comes. But, after the formation of cavity, the tooth cannot be restructured.
- Third Stage
At this stage, the process of de-mineralization has stopped, as indicated by shiny dark brown lesion on the teeth. It leaves stains. While active tooth decay is dull and lighter in color.
- Fourth Stage
After the destruction of dentin and enamel, the cavity becomes increasingly noticeable. You can observe that the areas affected by cavity change their color and become very soft. As the decay goes through enamel, it exposes the dentinal tubules, which contain passages to nerve of the tooth. It results in excruciating pain but the pain is for temporary period.
- Tooth Fracture
Extensive internal decay of tooth causes it to break under pressure. You may experience tooth fracture during normal chewing. It means that the decay has spread enough allowing the bacteria to fill the pulp tissue at the center of the tooth. At this stage, you’ll experience constant toothache. This also means that the pulp tissue is dead. After passing this stage, your tooth will no longer be responsive to cold or hot, but it will be tender to pressure.
Dental caries can also cause bad breath and foul tastes. In highly progressed cases, infection can spread from the tooth to the surrounding soft tissues. Complications such as cavernous sinus thrombosis and Ludwig angina can be life-threatening.
