Cavities: Real Talk

Cavities are common among kids, adults, seniors, it’s considered most common disease in the world. According to the World Health Organization, 2.5 billion people are affected by cavities worldwide. At Arbo Dental Care Bradford, we believe in prioritizing cavities when they are small and easy to manage to make sure teeth have the best chance of lasting a lifetime.

Why is it that cavities are so common among all age groups compared to other diseases?

The answer is in the inability for teeth to grow back and heal. Teeth enamel in particular only grows while the tooth is below the gums, once it’s through the gums the enamel can no longer be made, so if a tooth chips off or gets a cavity, it will not grow back.

Teeth structure is one of the most unique in our body because it is the only part of the human body that cannot grow itself back. Think of our skin, when there is a cut it will be able to close the wounded area after a couple weeks.

Knowing this it makes sense why cavities are the most common disease in the world that affects all ages and ethnicities. Each time bacteria break down a small amount of teeth, that injury to the tooth accumulates over time, and with more time the cavities only get deeper.

Whereas with diabetes or heart disease, our immune system is able to heal and manage the blood-sugar or cholesterol levels for longer. We often don’t hear of kids having high blood-sugar or high cholesterol, because their immune system is able to manage the levels.

Teeth do not have any possibility to grow back the lost tooth structure due to cavities or fractures.

To learn more about a cavity or to see what it looks like, check out our recent blog post here.

Thank for reading, make sure to let us know which topics you’d like to learn about next!

Dr. Pham

Arbo Dental Care Team in Bradford