By Dr Joel Yong, PhD: For Complete Post, Click Here…

What’s so complicated about tooth decay?

What is in a tooth?

Our teeth are somewhat similar to bones, but are not considered as bones. They contain mineralised calcium. However, the cells in our bones are able to repair any damage sustained to the bones, such as in the case of a fracture, because the bones contain osteocyte cells that promote repairs, while our teeth cannot repair themselves in a similar manner.

This lack of a self-repair function in our teeth indicates that we ought to be very careful about what happens to our teeth if we do desire to have healthy, natural teeth. Once a tooth is lost, the only way to have a full set of teeth again is to get fake teeth implants.

How do we damage our teeth?

Our mouths contain approximately 20 billion bacterial cells, and we’re swallowing approximately 100 billion bacterial cells per day in our saliva. The population distribution of these bacterial cells is highly dependent on what we’re eating and how we’re cleaning our teeth.

There are many uneven surfaces in our mouth that allow bacterial cells to accumulate. The buildup of bacterial cells in a colony helps them to secrete a biofilm comprising extracellular polymeric substances (or exopolymeric substances, EPS), much a like the slimy material that we find in unclean toilets. These EPS materials are necessary to help the bacterial cells survive, and are derived from the sugary foods that we consume in our diet.

The improper cleaning of our teeth allows for the biofilm to build up and strengthen, which over time contributes to a development of a slimy material covering our teeth. 

the live bacterial cells in this biofilm are conducting their own individual survival activities, which end up irritating the gum and causing inflammation to occur, which will eventually result in a dysregulation of our immune system signalling functions over time.If we’re brushing our teeth and our gums bleed easily when we’re brushing certain sensitive spots — they are inflamed beyond any shadow of a doubt.