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Common Dental Problems : Dental Cavity
Problem :
A major and common dental issue is TOOTH DECAY. Tooth Decay is also commonly referred as “Cavities” or “Dental Caries”.
Cause:
The cause for Tooth Decay or Cavities is:
Foods which we eat contain starches and sugars. They react with plaque (a sticky and plae yellow film) coating teeth. This releases acids which attack the outer covering of tooth called “ENAMEL (vulnerable and susceptible to damage)”, thus such repeated attacks cause Tooth Decay.
Symptoms:
Symptoms by which one can diagnose dental cavity or caries :
Visible holes or pits.
Discolouration or brown/black staining on the surface of a tooth.
Tooth sensitivity.
Food lodgement.
Toothache/Pain while biting.
Potential Victims:
According to Indian dental journal, dental cavity is the commonest dental problem prevailing. 95% of people, including all age groups are affected by this.
According to various studies done in India, it is observed that the occurrence of dental caries is very high in the age group of 21-30. Having said this, children are also affected by dental cavity and from my experience in case of children, 85% of them have tooth decay and nearly half of them have mouth pain.
Few studies have also shown that the incidence of dental caries are higher in female than male.