Some people are confused that their tooth is decayed from the inside with the surface remaining clean and good. Why would that happen?

    Actually, it’s called latent dental caries, in which a tooth seems healthy from the outside, while inside it is a big cavity. Mostly it happens in some concealed positions like proximal surface between teeth, so that it’s quite hard for you to discover its existence. Generally, it can’t be detected until a thorough dental checkup is taken. In most cases, the cavity has progressed quite deep and even devitalized the pulp. Therefore, once there is discomfort of your teeth, even the surface is good, seek a dental checkup in a timely manner. 

    How does latent dental caries developed?

    During the development of dental caries, the outside tooth enamel is the first victim attacked by bacteria leading to enamel demineralization, followed by different degree of damage to the inside dentin. Likewise, it’s also enamel that is damaged first in latent dental caries. However, there may be a process of remineralization for the superficial enamel, resulting from other factors like fluoride in toothpaste. As a result, it seems that the tooth remains integrated. But in fact, bacteria continue to erode the inside dentin, expanding the cavity. 

    Its development is mainly linked with unthorough cleaning of teeth, in that proximal surface is quite hard to reach in our daily brushing. It is necessary to floss carefully after brushing. 

    Of course, careful brushing and flossing is not a guarantee for not gaining dental caries forever. The development of dental caries varies from person to person. Someone suffers from dental caries without enjoying sugars, while others eating sugars often show no signs of dental caries. Except for brushing on a daily basis, it’s necessary to take an oral checkup every 6 months. Wish you a set of healthy, straight and white teeth.

    Feel free to contact me if there’s any dental problem. (WeChat ID: aiyuan325180)