What is Tooth Decay

The discipline that studies dental decay is called karyology, and is concerned with the tooth and operative techniques using materials such as aesthetic restoration, glass ionomer and resins, as well as non-aesthetic amalgam.

Dental caries is a multifactorial disease, meaning there must be several factors present in order for it to develop. So far investigations have succeeded in identifying four key factors:

The anatomy: as well as the composition of its surface, its location makes teeth retain more or less plaque. The back teeth, molars and premolars, are more susceptible to decay since their morphology is rougher.

This can degrade the starch until it becomes sugar and stay while the masses in the mouth could catch glucose, leading to a decrease in saliva pH favoring demineralization of enamel. Besides the presence of carbohydrates is not as important as the frequency of consumption.

The individual should be limited to four times a maximum of sugar, thus the sharp decrease in pH can increase the period of time between when a salivary re-action buffers systems that are primarily of the carbonic acid / bicarbonate and phosphate system.

The decay is a multifactorial disease that is characterized by destruction of the hard tissues of the tooth as a result of a demineralization caused by generating aside the plaque from a carbon diet

If not treated, after attacking and destroying the enamel and dentin, the decay will reach the pulp and produce inflammation, pulpitis, and subsequent necrosis (pulp death). The end result is inflammation of the area surrounding the apex or tip of the apical root, or periodontitis that can reach or cause a cellulite Phlegmonosum.

They also present one side where occlusal drills abound, along with pits, points and fissures. It is also necessary to incorporate the greater or lesser impact because of an inherited genetic susceptibility or some kind of pathology as the Choquet.

Time: plaque must be eliminated before it calcifies. It can be removed with proper hygiene and will not cause decay.

Diet: the presence of fermentable carbohydrates in the diet affects the appearance of decay, however starches do not produce. But it is necessary to clarify that an enzyme found in saliva called alpha amylase or salivary ptyalin produces the metabolism of carbohydrates.

Bacteria: join the acquired film (made up of proteins that precipitated on the surface of the enamel) and congregate forming a "biofilm" (cooperative community). They subsist and thus evade the host's defense systems, which mainly consist of removal of saprophytic bacteria and / or pathogenic not attached to saliva, as these are subsequently swallowed. Initially the biofilm has a majority of gram positive bacteria with little ability to form organic acids and extracellular polysaccharides. Later, due to the anaerobic conditions of the deeper layers, they are replaced by a predominance of negative and gram is in this moment called to the plate "cariogenic," that is, capable of producing dental caries.

Bacteria adhere to each other but we need primary colonization by the Streptococcus sanguis belonging to the family of mutans, as are also Lactobacillus acidophilus, Actinomyces naeslundii, Actinomyces viscosus, and so on.

In physiological conditions the absence of one of these factors limits the onset or development of caries.