Saliva also causes tooth decay and causes the six major factors of tooth decay

Do you know why tooth decay occurs? Both adults and children are plagued by tooth decay, so if you want to prevent tooth decay, you must first understand the cause of tooth decay. Let's take a look.

With the change of dietary habits, oral problems have become a concern. Tooth decay is the most common of all oral diseases, so do you know what causes tooth decay?

Seven factors contribute to tooth decay

1. Eating habits

Diet plays an important role in the formation of tooth decay.Food contains a lot of carbohydrates and sugars, which are not only the energy source of the bacteria in the plaque, but also the organic acids produced by the hydrolysis of glycolysis through bacterial metabolism, which causes some bacteria to dissolve proteins and produce tooth decay. Especially children who love sweets from a young age are prone to tooth decay.

2. Saliva

Saliva is the external environment of the tooth and plays a role in buffering, washing, anti-caster or antibacterial. The large and thin amount of saliva washes the surface of the tooth and reduces the buildup of bacteria and food debris. The small and thick amount of saliva tends to be retained, contributing to plaque formation and adhesion to the tooth surface. The nature and composition of saliva affect its buffering capacity and also affect the living conditions of the bacteria.

3. Oral environment

The oral cavity is the external environment of the teeth and is closely related to the occurrence of caries, in which food and saliva play a leading role. Food is mainly carbohydrates, which are associated with the formation of plaque matrix and are the main source of energy for bacteria in plaque. Changes in the quantity and quality of saliva can affect the caries rate, and the caries rate is significantly increased in patients with xerostomia or saliva secretion.

4. Bacteria

In recent years, it has been internationally recognized that caries is a bacterial disease that causes many types of bacteria that cause caries, the most important of which are some Streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli.The bacterial army attacks the hard tissue of the tooth, causing it to develop chronic lesions, which manifest themselves as inorganic demineralization and organic decomposition.

5. Host

Teeth are the host in the process of caries, and the morphology, mineralization degree and tissue structure of teeth are directly related to the occurrence of caries. On the other hand, the structure of the tooth is closely related to the body, especially in the process of development, which not only affects the development and structure of the tooth, but also has a great impact on the flow rate and composition of saliva.

6. Hygienic practices

Each process of tooth decay takes a certain amount of time to complete, and it is necessary to rinse your mouth in time after eating.

Ways to prevent tooth decay

1. Eat a healthy diet

Calcium is an important component of tooth tissue, and infant tooth development is inseparable from calcium. Calcium supplementation from a variety of foods, such as milk, yoghurt and green vegetables, is beneficial to dental health.

2. Protect your baby teeth

The prevention of caries should start as soon as the teeth erupt, and parents should not think that the baby teeth will be replaced, and it does not matter if the tooth is decayed.As everyone knows, children with caries in primary teeth are 3 times more likely to develop caries in permanent teeth, and once the tooth decay is serious, the extraction will break the order of permanent tooth eruption and replacement, affecting the development of the entire dentition.

3. Remove plaque

Changing the oral environment and creating clean conditions is an important part of preventing caries, and the most practical and effective way is to brush and rinse your mouth, which can remove most of the bacteria in the mouth and reduce the formation of plaque.

4. Improve the structure of tooth pits and fissures

Pit and fissure sealing is to apply a polymer composite resin material to the pit and fissure that is too deeply indented, and put on a protective coat to the teeth, so that the teeth are protected from erosion, so as to enhance the ability to resist caries. It is mainly aimed at the newly erupted permanent molars in children and adolescents, and the sixth instar teeth are the main targets. If the pit and fissure is detached, it needs to be resealed.