Nutrition - One of the top contributing factors to tooth decay is processed sugars. We have found that often when we have a patient from another part of the world where there is a limited supply of refined sugars, that those patients rarely have any cavities! We always advise our patients to eat their sugar doses at once, rather than nibble on it just before bedtime, or throughout the day! Watch out for hard sticky candies that you might either suck on, or need to chew. Those are the candies that are eating away the surface of you teeth, that will start the ball rolling! What are the things that we eat that contribute the most to tooth decay? Soft drinks, coffee with sugar, sugary fruit drinks and acidic foods. Medicines that lower our saliva flow and smoking are two other major contributors to decay, because without saliva to dilute the acid attacks, the teeth will get decay quicker.

Routine check-ups and cleanings- It is important to have your teeth professionally cleaned at least twice a year and most patients can benefit from three or even four cleanings per year depending upon factors such as diet, smoking and coffee, medications, diabetes, heredity and home care. While we can't do much about heredity, we can do something about our diet and our home care. For more info on home care tips, see the preventive dentistry section below.

Fluoride - Fluoride helps to increase the tooth's resistance to decay. It strengthens the outer layer of the tooth. Therefore, when the teeth are developing, we suggest fluoride treatments to our patients who could benefit from it. In patients who have sensitive teeth or frequent decay at the gumline, then fluoride has been known to help as well. In older patients we often find gumline decay which is both hard to prevent as it is to treat. Fluoride treatments have been shown to help minimize this when both professionally given as well as at home.

Sealants- seal up the pits and fissures in the tops of the teeth, especially the molars and bicuspids which frequently have these deep developmental grooves that never fully seal and are susceptible to decay and bacteria. As shown on the left, the toothbrush can not access the groove to clean it, however the bacteria can easily drop in there and start to eat away at the tooth.