Why You’re So Prone To Cavities Despite Having Amazing Dental Hygiene

Unsplash/Anna Sastre

There is nothing more frustrating than sitting in an uncomfortable dental chair for an hour and being told, “Wow, you have such beautiful teeth!” immediately followed by, “Oh, but we will have to fill that cavity soon.” Sound familiar? No matter how much time you spend brushing and flossing and eating the right things, there always seems to be some sort of issue whenever you go in for your semi-annual cleaning. What gives?!

Well, we’re here to tell you that being prone to cavities despite having amazing dental hygiene might not actually be your fault after all.

There’s a lovely little bacteria called streptococcus mutans that is responsible for causing most cavities. When the environment is right and this bacteria can create a biofilm, meaning a group of the cells stick to one another, as well as a surface like your tooth enamel, they begin to grow and adhere even more to that surface. This process is more commonly known as the development of plaque. (Yummy, we know.)

Now, what stops these pesky little buggers from doing all sorts of damage to your tooth enamel? The wonderful component in your saliva called mucus. A whopping 99.5 percent of your saliva is simply water, but that minuscule remainder is what keeps your teeth and gums truly healthy. Mucus carries enzymes, electrolytes and glycol proteins, and it can prevent bacteria like streptococcus mutans from developing into cavities in the first place. It doesn’t do so by killing, inhibiting or changing the bacteria, though. It just keeps it suspended in your saliva rather than allowing it to create a biofilm on a surface in your mouth.

Flickr/Jakob Hans

However, when you struggle with dry mouth, your saliva dramatically reduces in quantity, thus rendering it far less effective in battling tooth decay. And even if you don’t feel like have a cotton ball in your mouth at all times, you might still have a mild yet chronic case of dry mouth that is impeding healthy saliva production. Dry mouth is a common side effect of many medications, and it can also go hand in hand with stress. Smoking certainly doesn’t help things, either.

Luckily, the many zero-alcohol mouthwash products in the marketplace today can help reduce these symptoms by cleaning your mouth without drying it out even further. And if you prioritize drinking water (hydrating) while avoiding caffeine, alcohol and tobacco (dehydrating), your symptoms will likely improve.

So there you have it: dry mouth seems simple but it could be the root of all your dental problems. And if you choose to address it, you might come to find that the dentist’s office isn’t the worst place on the planet after all.