The same things that cause cavities in your back teeth can lead to decay in your front teeth. These include:
• Sugary foods and drinks, especially carbonated and acidic drinks.
• Infrequent or poor toothbrushing - especially missing the gum line.
• Not flossing or cleaning between the teeth regularly.
• Acid reflux
• Lack of fluoride
• Mouth breathing especially at night when saliva flow is low. Drying the mouth out for long periods of time while sleeping allows plaque bacteria to grow unchallenged. This is particularly significant if the teeth aren’t cleaned properly before bed.
• Drinking beverages that are very high in sugar or acid, particularly if this is done frequently. For example, teenagers regularly sipping on energy drinks, adults who regularly drink hot drinks with sugar and children who are allowed to sleep with their sippy cups or bottles containing beverages such as juice or milk.
The good news about front tooth cavities is that they’re easier for you to spot than those in your back teeth. A front tooth cavity may appear as a black, brown or chalky white coloured pit that you can’t brush away. They usually start between the teeth or at the margin where the tooth and gum meet. The most common front tooth cavity symptom is pain. You might feel pain or sensitivity when you’re eating or drinking particularly with hot, cold or sweet things. You may also notice the gum around the area looks or feels swollen and is slightly receding away from the area.
Prevention is key to maintaining a healthy smile. Remaining vigilant and establishing good habits are the best ways to prevent tooth cavities. These include:
1. Regular checks by a dental professional are imperative if cavities are to be prevented. If you notice what you think is a cavity on your front tooth, contact your dentist and have it checked out quickly.
2. Maintain a healthy, balanced diet and reduce intake of sugar, carbonated drinks and acidic foods. Choosing foods that have a low sugar content but also require lots of crunching and chewing, will help to cleanse the teeth and stimulate saliva. Fresh fruit and crunchy vegetables are good examples.
3. Limit the frequency of sugary treats to mealtimes only. It takes the mouth 2 to 3 hours to recover from a sugar/acid attack. The more frequent the acid attacks, the less time the mouth must fully recover before the next attack begins.
4. Particularly relevant to small children: never allow children to sleep with drinks other than water. Even milk which contains a type of sugar called lactose, if sipped at night can cause front tooth decay.
5. Maintain a good oral hygiene routine: Brush your teeth morning and night with fluoride toothpaste and use interdental aids to remove plaque and food debris from in between your teeth. Fluoride helps strengthen tooth enamel and can be found in toothpaste, mouth rinses and in some flosses.
6. Professional dental cleaning: this helps to prevent dental caries and gum disease by disturbing the plaque biofilm from the more difficult to reach areas. Your dental professional can also check your home-care regime and offer up-to-date oral hygiene and diet advice.
Treatment for a front tooth cavity will depend on how far the decay has travelled and how big the cavity is. Your dentist may need to take an X-ray to determine the extent of this.
The most common front tooth cavity treatment is a filling. In a front tooth the dentist will use a tooth-coloured composite filling. Composite comes in many different shades and your dentist will choose the one that can be best blended into the shade of the surrounding tooth.
If your tooth decay is severe or if the tooth has become weak and broken, a crown or cap may be required to restore the tooth’s function and appearance. This will be made in a lab and matched to the shade of the teeth either side of the crowned front tooth.
If the tooth decay has travelled as far as the nerve and become infected, you may require a procedure called root canal treatment before the tooth is restored.
In cases where the decay is very advanced and the tooth becomes unrestorable, the only option is to extract the tooth. Options for replacing a front tooth will depend on the condition of the bone and the teeth either side of the gap. Your dentist will be able to talk you through your options.
Early diagnosis is imperative to limit the extent of treatment required and to preserve the tooth's appearance, shape and structural integrity.
Guided Biofilm Therapy is a dental cleaning protocol that focuses on addressing the root cause of tooth decay: plaque biofilm. It uses a coloured dye to make plaque biofilm more visible. This helps to identify areas where the patient needs to clean more thoroughly. It also helps the dental professional to see which areas to target to ensure all deposits are removed thoroughly during the cleaning process. Diet analysis is carried out followed by bespoke oral hygiene instruction where patients are taught which cleaning techniques to use and what lifestyle changes could be made to reduce the risk of dental disease. This is followed by though dental cleaning: using gentle airflow and no pain cleaning technology, GBT effectively removes all detectable plaque, tartar and staining from the tooth surface even in difficult to reach areas. This improves visibility for the dental professional who is more likely to identify changes to the enamel on a clean tooth surface. GBT is suitable for all age groups including children due to its gentle nature and minimally invasive nature. It uses a soft powder containing erythritol which has natural anti-cariogenic properties to gently wash away debris. After the cleaning is complete, a fluoride foam is applied to the teeth to help strengthen the enamel and prevent decay.
To learn more about GBT and to find a GBT-trained professional visit SwitchtoGBT.
