Understanding the Different Stages of Tooth Decay: From Early Signs to Advanced Damage

Checking for tooth decay

Understanding Tooth Decay

You know that your dentist looks for signs of tooth decay, and you probably know that good oral hygiene and a nutritious diet can help prevent it. What you may not know, however, is that tooth decay happens in five distinct stages. If you can catch it in the early stages, it can be reversed, so it pays to know what you’re looking for when you examine your teeth. Here, we discuss the five stages of tooth decay, from early signs to advanced damage.

The Five Stages of Tooth Decay

• Stage One- Demineralization: You might not realize it, but there are initial warning signs before a cavity develops. The outermost layer of your teeth is made of enamel, the hardest tissue in your body, which is made mostly of minerals. When the tooth is exposed to plaque, the acids caused by bacteria cause enamel to begin to lose minerals. This mineral loss can be seen as white, yellow, or brown spots on the teeth, which can easily be seen on the front teeth but are often missed on the molars.
• Stage Two- Enamel Decay: If the spots of demineralization go unnoticed or untreated, plaque buildup will begin to break down the enamel of the teeth. You might notice sensitivity, which is one of the first physical signs of damage. Weakened enamel can develop small holes known as cavities. This damage can’t be reversed, but a dentist can treat cavities with fillings, inlays, onlays, or crowns.
• Stage Three- Dentin Decay: Under the enamel is the dentin layer, with tissue that is much softer and more sensitive than enamel. As decay progresses, it can spread quickly along this layer, leading to tooth sensitivity and discoloration. Chewing food may become painful, and so can consuming hot or cold food or drinks.
• Stage Four- Pulp Infection: The innermost layer of the teeth is the pulp. This is the layer with the nerves and blood vessels that nourish the teeth and provide sensation. When pup is damaged, it can become inflamed and begin to swell, in a root canal infection. Root canal infections must be treated with endodontic therapy, removing the pulp, and capping the tooth, but if this isn’t an option, the tooth will need to be extracted.
• Stage Five- Abscess: This is the final stage of tooth decay, in which untreated decay spreads beyond the tooth. Bacteria invades the pulp and the surrounding tissues, causing an infection and a pocket of pus known as an abscess. The dentist will need to drain the pus carefully, after which the abscess can be treated with antibiotic and antiseptic medications.

 What to Know About Kids and Tooth Decay

Children are more susceptible to tooth decay than adults, because the enamel of baby teeth is thinner than that of adults. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tooth decay is among the most common childhood conditions in the United States. It might not seem like this is a particularly significant problem, since baby teeth eventually fall out, but it is very important to protect those little teeth. Children need their teeth for chewing and speaking, and baby teeth are the placeholders for adult teeth; losing them to decay can cause adult teeth to grow in incorrectly. To prevent childhood tooth decay, teach your children too brush their teeth thoroughly and limit sugary foods. Additionally, make sure your children have their first dental appointments by the time they turn one year old.

Preventing Tooth Decay

Good oral hygiene is the first line of defense against dental decay. Brush your teeth twice daily, floss regularly, and use mouthwash to reach the bacteria brushing and flossing can miss. Eating a nutritious diet and limiting sugar can help, and so can staying hydrated. See your dentist at least twice a year for checkups and cleanings, and so that the dentist can detect any early signs of decay.  Talk to your dentist to find out if preventive measures like fluoride treatments and sealants are right for you.

Partner with Park 56 to Protect Your Teeth

If you’re looking for a dentist in New York, why not choose the dentist voted best in the city? At Park 56 Dental Group, we offer pediatric, prosthodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, Invisalign®, emergency, and sedation dentistry, all at the highest level of treatment. We serve the Midtown, Central Park, Upper East Side, Park Avenue, and all surrounding Manhattan and New York areas, with a patient-centered practice that has hours to fit your schedule. Schedule your complimentary consultation today by contacting us online or calling us at (212) 826-2322.

Park 56 Dental Group_1830990_Blog_August_2023_How to Choose the Right Toothpaste for Your Unique Dental Needs

Meta description: With so many toothpastes on the market, how do you know which to choose? Park 56 Dental Group offers tips on choosing the right toothpaste for you.

How hard can it be to choose a toothpaste?

How do you go about choosing a toothpaste? It seems like it should be easy! Once you get to the store, though, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the options. With so many toothpastes from which to choose, how do you pick the right one? Here, we offer some helpful tips for choosing the right toothpaste for your unique dental needs.

Know the Basics

Toothpastes contain abrasive agents, flavoring agents, detergents, humectants, and detergents, and are available in gel, paste, powder, or tablet forms. There are two important things to look for in a toothpaste: fluoride and the ADA seal of approval. Fluoride has been proven to protect against tooth decay and help to remineralize teeth, and the ADA (American Dental Association) must verify that a product is effective before that product can display the seal of approval.

Evaluate Your Dental Needs

Think about what you want a toothpaste to accomplish for you beyond just cleaning your teeth. Some common concerns include bad breath, sensitive teeth, plaque, gum disease, tartar, and yellowing teeth.  Once you have assessed what you need, look for a toothpaste that fits with your concerns.

• Preventing cavities: Fluoride is a major factor in preventing cavities and strengthening enamel. Choose a toothpaste with mild abrasives, like hydrated silica or calcium carbonate, to remove plaque and surface stains without damaging enamel.
• Tartar control: Bacteria can cause biofilm on the teeth, and this can lead to plaque. When biofilm traps salivary calcium and phosphate, it crystallizes into tartar, also called calculus. While this is removed by the dental hygienist during your cleanings, it can be helpful to use a tartar control toothpaste in between visits. These toothpastes typically contain ingredients like zinc citrate and triclosan.
• Sensitivity: Dental pain is typically due to dentin hypersensitivity. Toothpastes with potassium and fluoride can help with sensitivity, as can toothpastes with strontium chloride, calcium carbonate, or arginine. Using desensitizing toothpaste for at least eight weeks can help reduce dental pain.
• Gum disease prevention: Toothpaste with ingredients that have antibacterial properties, like triclosan or stannous fluoride, can help prevent gum disease by reducing plaque and gum inflammation.
• Controlling bad breath: Brush your teeth for two to three minutes, at least twice a day, with a fluoride toothpaste. Brush your tongue from back to front, or use a tongue scraper. Baking soda can be effective for eliminating halitosis (bad breath), either in a baking soda toothpaste or on its own.
• Whitening teeth: There are several whitening toothpastes on the market, with bleaching ingredients like silica, pyrophosphates, and hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is a good option because it is gentle and won’t cause irritation in your mouth. If you do experience any uncomfortable symptoms, contact your dentist.

Choosing a Toothpaste for Children

Children over age six typically use adult toothpaste. Before that, as long as the toothpaste meets the fluoride and ADA seal requirements, you can choose a fun toothpaste for your children, to encourage them to brush frequently. Look for fun flavors, sparkles and swirls, or toothpaste in a container decorated with fun characters or superheroes. Make sure, though, that you teach children to spit out the toothpaste instead of swallowing it, because ingesting toothpaste can lead to chronic fluorosis for kids.

Partner with the Dentist Voted Best in New York

If you’re looking for a dentist in New York, why not choose the dentist voted best in the city? At Park 56 Dental Group, we offer pediatric, prosthodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, Invisalign®, emergency, and sedation dentistry, all at the highest level of treatment. We serve the Midtown, Central Park, Upper East Side, Park Avenue, and all surrounding Manhattan and New York areas, with a patient-centered practice that has hours to fit your schedule. Schedule your complimentary consultation today by contacting us online or calling us at (212) 826-2322.

Foods to Eat When You Have a Toothache

When you’ve got a toothache, one of the last things you want to do is eat. A tooth that’s throbbing is bad enough, but when you add chewing to the mix, it can be excruciating. Does this mean you are doomed to a liquid diet until you can see the dentist? Not necessarily. Here, we offer some strategies for reducing tooth pain, as well as recommendations about what to eat and not eat when your teeth are hurting.

First, let’s talk about toothaches themselves. Toothaches can happen for many reasons, including cavities and oral infections, but they can also be caused by dental procedures. Tooth extraction and oral surgery can cause pain during the recovery period, and even a cleaning can make your teeth feel sensitive and sore. Toothaches occur because the inner layer of the tooth, called the pulp, is inflamed, and gum inflammation can also cause tooth pain, because the gums surround the teeth. A toothache can feel sharp, throbbing, and sensitive, and you may experience a headache, fever, and a bad taste in your mouth at the same time.

Going to a dentist is the best course of action when you have a toothache, because sometimes toothaches can lead to more serious health conditions. However, there are some home remedies you can try to alleviate the pain while you are waiting for an appointment. A saltwater rinse may bring relief, or you could try a cold compress. Garlic, cloves, and peppermint tea have all been shown to reduce tooth pain, so you might want to give one of these tactics a shot.

There are also foods you can eat that won’t exacerbate the problem. Soft, easy to eat foods like bananas, applesauce, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, and oatmeal are all good options if you have a toothache. Gelatin, puddings, custards, smoothies, and milkshakes can also be soothing, though ice cream is typically too cold to eat with a toothache. As long as it isn’t too warm or too cold, any soft food is a good option.

You will want to steer clear of any foods that are acidic or loaded with sugar. Avoid citrus fruits, tomatoes, raw vegetables, and anything spicy or salty. Things that are hard and crunchy or difficult to chew, like granola or meat, should be avoided. Hot coffee will likely be too painful to drink, and hard or sticky candy will cause more pain. Chewing ice should be avoided, because it’s not just hard on the teeth but also too cold to tolerate with a toothache.

The best thing to do when you have a toothache, of course, is to make an appointment with a highly skilled, experienced dentist. At Park 56 Dental Group, we offer pediatric, prosthodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, Invisalign®, emergency, and sedation dentistry, all at the highest level of treatment. We serve the Midtown, Central Park, Upper East Side, Park Avenue, and all surrounding Manhattan and New York areas, with a patient-centered practice that has hours to fit your schedule. Schedule your complimentary consultation today by contacting us online or calling us at (212) 826-2322.

Natural Tooth Pain Relievers

If you’ve got a toothache, it can be hard to think of anything else. You may not want to take time off and see your dentist immediately, but what can you do for the constant, throbbing pain? Here, we offer a list of natural tooth pain relievers, to give you a little bit of extra grace before you schedule an appointment to have your tooth examined and find the root cause of your toothache.

• Try a saltwater rinse. Mix ½ teaspoon of salt into a glass of warm water, and when the salt dissolves, rinse your mouth. Because salt water is a natural disinfectant, this can be an effective treatment, reducing inflammation and healing wounds in the mouth while also loosening particles that could be stuck between the teeth.
• Rinse with hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide kills bacteria, and can also reduce plaque, heal bleeding gums, and reduce pain and inflammation. It is important to properly dilute the hydrogen peroxide, mixing 3 percent hydrogen peroxide with equal parts water. Swish it around your mouth but do not swallow it.
• A cold compress can alleviate pain. The cold causes blood vessels to constrict, as well as reducing swelling and inflammation. This can help relieve pain, and a cold compress is particularly helpful if your toothache is caused by trauma. Wrap a bag of ice in a towel and hold it to the area for 20 minutes at a time, reapplying every few hours.
• Peppermint tea can have a numbing effect. It’s especially effective to apply a used tea bag, cooled tea bag to the affected area, when it’s slightly warm. Alternately, put a used tea bag into the freezer for a few minutes, then use the bag as a cold compress, applying it to the tooth.
• Garlic has long been known to have medicinal properties. Garlic has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, and it acts as a natural pain reliever, as well as killing bacteria. To help with a toothache, crush a garlic clove into a paste and apply it to the area, or slowly chew a fresh garlic clove. It has to be fresh garlic, because other forms of garlic don’t contain the allicin that gives garlic its healing properties. As effective as it is, though, garlic does have side effects. Aside from having garlic breath, you may experience bloating, body odor, upset stomach, heartburn, acid reflux, an allergic reaction, or burning in the mouth.
• Thyme has antibacterial and antioxidant properties. It can help to treat toothaches and fight the bacteria that contribute to tooth decay. To get these benefits, you can chew fresh thyme, dilute thyme essential oil in carrier oil and apply it to the painful area, or add a drop of oil to a glass of water and use it as mouthwash.
• Vanilla extract contains alcohol, which can numb pain. What’s more, vanilla has proven antioxidant properties, which facilitate healing. It has to be real vanilla, not imitation, and it works when applied directly to the afflicted area.
• Clove is an ancient toothache remedy. Clove oil numbs pain and reduces inflammation, because it contains eugenol, a natural antiseptic. Dilute the clove oil with a carrier oil like jojoba or sunflower oil, using about 15 drops of clove oil to one ounce of the other oil. Be careful not to swallow it, but just apply the diluted clove oil to your mouth with a cotton ball. A drop of clove oil in a glass of water can also make an effective mouthwash.
• There is actually a plant called a toothache plant. A flowering plant that thrives in tropical and subtropical regions, the toothache plant contains spilanthol, a compound with anti-inflammatory properties. Chewing this plant can numb your mouth, but you shouldn’t use it if you are allergic to daisies, have prostate cancer, use diuretics or drink alcohol, or are pregnant.
• Guava leaves can help heal wounds. They have both anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that are useful in helping with a toothache. To reap the benefits, chew fresh guava leaves or make a mouthwash by boiling guava leaves in water.
• Wheat grass has healing properties. Nutrients found in wheatgrass, including chlorophyll, provide anti-inflammatory, immune-boosting, and bacteria-fighting properties. You can use wheatgrass as a mouthwash but, unlike other mouthwashes, you can also drink it.
• Aloe vera can reduce pain and swelling in the mouth. It has both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and can reduce pain and swelling. If you are taking medication to control blood sugar, though, talk to your doctor before using aloe vera, because it can potentially lower blood glucose to an unsafe level.

These home remedies can help, but the best thing to do for toothache is to see your dentist. A dentist can determine the cause of your toothache and come up with the best plan for treatment. At Park 56 Dental Group, we offer pediatric, prosthodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, Invisalign®, emergency, and sedation dentistry, all at the highest level of treatment. We serve the Midtown, Central Park, Upper East Side, Park Avenue, and all surrounding Manhattan and New York areas, with a patient-centered practice that has hours to fit your schedule. Schedule your complimentary consultation today by contacting us online or calling us at (212) 826-2322.

Can a toothache cause problems to the rest of your body?

We know that the health of your mouth has an impact on your overall health, but does pain in your mouth cause problems for your body? When you have a toothache, it can certainly feel like your whole body is involved! Your head may throb, your heart may race, and you may feel nauseous or just generally sick. Is it all in your imagination?

In a word, no. A common cause of a toothache is tooth infection, and a tooth infection can definitely affect your whole body. Tooth infections happen when bacteria enter the tooth because of a chip or a cavity, and infections can lead to an abscess at the root of the tooth. An abscess causes constant, throbbing pain that can radiate to the jawbone, neck, or ear, along with bad breath, a bad taste in the mouth, and increased sensitivity to hot and cold foods.

Left untreated, the bacteria that caused your tooth infection can begin to spread throughout your body. If it spreads to the blood, it can cause sepsis, with symptoms that include an extremely high fever, respiratory trouble, and mental confusion. Your blood pressure may drop, causing you to go into septic shock, and in the worst case scenario, you could die. Another life-threatening condition that can result from a tooth infection is meningitis, which occurs because of inflammation near the brain and spinal cord. Ludwig’s Angina can also be caused by a tooth infection, bringing symptoms of pain and tenderness under the tongue, trouble swallowing, breathing, and speaking, swelling and redness of the neck, neck and ear pain, drooling, fever, chills, fatigue, confusion, and weakness. To avoid any of these complications and illnesses, it’s important to seek prompt medical treatment for a tooth infection. To prevent tooth infections, practice good oral hygiene, eat a nutrient-dense diet, and see your dentist regularly.

You don’t necessarily have to have a tooth infection to have your tooth pain affect other parts of your body. Because of a shared nerve, tooth pain can cause head pain. If you grind your teeth, it can cause muscle stress that results in both a toothache and a headache, and these can also both be caused by a sinus infection or TMJ (temporomandibular joint dysfunction). If your tooth hurts due to a cavity, crack, or impaction, you may get a migraine. It is thought that the connection between tooth pain and migraines has to do with a cranial nerve called the trigeminal nerve, which provides feeling to the face, including the mouth. Pain from a toothache can irritate this nerve and trigger a migraine.

If you have a toothache, don’t put off seeing an experienced dentist, who can determine the source of your pain and prevent it from affecting the rest of your body. At Park 56 Dental Group, we offer pediatric, prosthodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, Invisalign®, emergency, and sedation dentistry, all at the highest level of treatment. We serve the Midtown, Central Park, Upper East Side, Park Avenue, and all surrounding Manhattan and New York areas, with a patient-centered practice that has hours to fit your schedule. Schedule your complimentary consultation today by contacting us online or calling us at (212) 826-2322.