How to identify dental cavities and prevent them in future

Experiencing a pulling pain when eating or dark patches that have suddenly appeared? Dental cavities can manifest themselves in different ways and often only late on. How can you identify a cavity in your tooth or in your child’s tooth in good time? And how can you best prevent one in the future?

In this blog article you will learn …

• the symptoms of a dental cavity.
• how to identify cavities and caries.
• why you should avoid cavities in your children’s milk teeth.
• how to effectively reduce the risk of cavities.

There are various signs of dental cavities. To enable you to interpret these correctly, we will first explain how cavities develop. The trigger is usually caries (decay):

• First, bacterial plaque settles on the teeth.
• If you or your child eat a lot of carbohydrates or sugary foods, you’ll be providing the perfect food for these harmful bacteria.
• If the plaque is not removed thoroughly, it produces acids that attack and slowly destroy your tooth enamel. This creates a hole.

How to recognise the first signs of tooth decay

Caries is difficult to recognise, especially in the early stages. The first symptoms of tooth decay are

• white or dark patches on the tooth
• small holes or cracks
• sudden pain when eating and drinking

The worst thing is that toothache usually only occurs in the advanced stages of caries. Caries initially develops without causing any pain.

Regular check-ups at your dentist are the best protection against tooth decay and cavities. We can identify the initial signs of caries at a very early stage, taking action before a cavity develops.

Find out more here:

Dental hygiene and preventive care

Arrange your next check-up appointment now:

Call directly

What do holes in the teeth look like? If you can see a hole in your tooth already, the caries is advanced. In most cases, you will see a small, dark hole or gap on the surface of the tooth.

How do I identify dental cavities early?

Caries can look different at different stages. At first, white or brown spots appear on the surface of the tooth. If you notice this, you should consult a dentist as soon as possible.

If caries continues to spread, the area on the tooth may become darker. A visible hole develops in the tooth. We can treat this too, but the cost increases. Depending on the size of the hole, a filling may not be sufficient and you may need a new crown for the tooth.

Early stages in children: what does caries look like on milk teeth?

Decay in milk teeth is visible in the same ways as in adult teeth. But it’s important to note that milk teeth are much more delicate than adult teeth, so caries can spread more quickly. If you suspect then that your child has tooth decay, make an appointment with a paediatric dentist as soon as possible.

Give us a call. We’ll find an appointment for a check-up at our dental practice in Egerkingen as soon as possible:

Make an appointment

You can find out more about our preventive programme for healthy children’s teeth here:

Paediatric dentistry

The best protection against cavities and tooth decay is regular dental check-ups and consistent oral hygiene at home:

• Make sure you have a healthy diet and drink few sugary drinks.
• Brush your teeth at least twice a day. Use interdental brushes and dental floss.
• You should come to our practice at least twice a year for a check-up and professional teeth cleaning.

Treating caries and cavities

Check-ups give us the opportunity to identify even the tiniest changes to your teeth. This means we can treat caries at an early stage, usually without the need for drilling or costly dental restoration.

In the case of advanced caries, we use gentle procedures to save your tooth. We remove the decayed areas and rebuild the tooth. Depending on the size of the defect, we use a tooth replacement material made of plastic and ceramic, or ceramic inlays, onlays and crowns.

You can find out more here:

Fillings

Give us a call, we’ll be pleased to advise you:

Make an appointment now