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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What is the best way to prevent cavities?

    Related Topic
    Oral Health
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  • 4

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    Dr Roland Chong

    Dentist

    The best way to prevent caries is to have a good balanced diet, limit snacking on sticky sweet foods or junk foods, avoid frequent consumption of soft drinks/sports drinks/cordial, brushing the teeth with fluoridated toothpaste twice a day including flossing, and drinking enough water which is fluoridated.

    Visit your family dentist regularly so early decay lesions can be detected and action can be taken to change the oral environment and allow the lesion to heal before it can become a cavity.

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  • Anonymous

    That last paragraph is news to me- not surprising, I'm not a Dentist! Especially the parts about changing the oral environment to allow lesions to heal before they become cavities.
    Can you please explain further. Thanks

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  • 2

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    Dr Rohan Wijey

    Dentist

    Dr Wijey was born in Sydney, and then moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland, where he graduated from Griffith University in Dentistry in 2009. At … View Profile

    The bacteria that cause decay proliferate in an acidic environment. These bacteria consume carbohydrates, and then secrete acid onto the teeth, which results decay.

    In order to disrupt this process, we dentists have traditionally placed most emphasis on orla hygiene. However, elimitating processed carbohydates from our diets is key to changing an oral environemnt that is condusive to decay.

    Our diets should comprise protein from meat/fish, carbohydates from vegies and a little fruit. No grains!

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  • 3

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    Dr Roland Chong

    Dentist

    When teeth are exposed to an acidic environment, ie after eating or whilst having something acidic, the tooth will start to lose minerals. The minerals in the teeth are the building blocks of the tooth. When the oral environment becomes less acidic and becomes neutral or basic the minerals in the saliva moves back into the tooth. And the tooth rebuilds itself. 

    Cavities in teeth develop over a period of time when the net result is a loss of minerals. This happens when the periods of acidity is greater than periods of neutral or basic pH. The tooth just does not have time to recover. 

    The oral environment consists of bacteria which when conditions are right will change to include a mix of bacteria which produce a lot of acid and which thrives in an acidic environment. The higher the volume of this bacteria the greater the likelihood the tooth will decay.

    So changing the environment includes the use of fluoride, a healthy diet and less snacking, and limiting the amount of acidic foods. There are also other things which dentist can do to help teeth with areas of early decay which have not cavitated to heal.

    I hope this helps answer your question.

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  • 1

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    Dr Kevin Jaffar

    Dentist

    Jaffar Dental - Trusted and Established since 1997. We are a family owned General Dental Practice offering a friendly and caring environment in Waterford QLD. … View Profile

    Brush 2-3 times per day
    Floss once per day
    Minimise consumption of sugary/ acidic foods and drinks
    Visit dentist every six months for check up and clean

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    Dr Michael Leong

    Dentist

    Welcome to Just Dental Care. “We do CARE”. We provide quality care and affordable dentistry to you and your family. We provide a comprehensive range … View Profile

    What is the best way to prevent cavities?

    The best way to prevent cavities is
    1) reduced sugar and acid intake in the diet.
    2) good oral hygeine like brushing and flossing twice daily.
    3) regular 6 month visits to the dentist to have the teeth cleaned and maintained.
    4) diagnostic dental x-rays every 2nd year to ensure that there is no decay that may be invisible to the eye.
    5) drinking milk and water.
    6) chewing sugar free gum to stimulate saliva flow after meals.
    7) using GC Tooth Mousse to strengthen teeth.
    8) If you are aware that you suffer from dry mouth because of the medications that you are on, you can substitute your saliva with GC Dry mouth or Biotene.

    Remember prevention is better than the cure, so if you are unsure if you have a cavity, visit your local dentist or feel free to contact us on 0738633604

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  • 1

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    Dr Jeremy Rourke

    Dentist

    In order for teeth to decay you need plaque bacteria and simple sugars that the bacteria turn into lactic acid. Yoghurt contains the lactic acid already and can be very damaging to tooth enamel. There are many sugars that can feed the decay bacteria but sucrose is the worst. So brush and floss your teth every day and limit sugar consumtion and in between meal snaking. The webpage http://www.stardentalport.com/secret sums up the known information and has YouTube video links 

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    Dr Rohan Wijey

    Dentist

    Dr Wijey was born in Sydney, and then moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland, where he graduated from Griffith University in Dentistry in 2009. At … View Profile

    Avoid any processed foods, especially simple carbohydrates and grains.

    The human species evolved on a diet of meat, vegetables and only a little fruit.

    Here's a great video targeted at kids about the link between diet and decay:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txJsZV-ZYWQ&list=PL1340B09E0A5A884C

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