Can our dentist in Birmingham restore decaying teeth?

If you’re worried about decaying teeth then you certainly aren’t alone. Hundreds of people come to the practice year-on-year worried about decay and how to stop it. Decay is one of the most common dental problems we see here at Sohal Dental Practice and there are small things you can do to help yourself avoid decay. However, before we get into prevention let’s take a more detailed look at what our dentist in Birmingham can do to restore teeth when decay almost reaches the point of no return.

Why do teeth decay?

Teeth decay for a number of reasons, but in the vast majority of cases we see decay is caused by a lack of good oral hygiene paired with high sugar and acidic diets.

Sugar and acid wear down the tooth’s natural protective layer called enamel. Once this layer has been worn down the tooth becomes more susceptible to the sugars and acids, and it can begin to rot, which is why when decay begins the tooth starts to discolour and turn a dark black or brown.

One factor that has massive implications for oral health is the dental hygiene regime we follow. If oral hygiene isn’t up to scratch then it’s more than likely that over time your teeth will begin to show signs of decay.

What is oral hygiene exactly? We’re going to discuss this more later, but first things first.

How can our dentist in Birmingham treat decay?

How we attack the deterioration will greatly vary, depending on the level of the decay in your teeth. If it is in the very early stages it could be that we are able to send you home with strict brushing and flossing guidelines, in the hope that if the area is tended to the decay will be fixable with brushing correctly alone.

If you, however, have reached a stage where the disease has had more of an effect on the tooth it could be time that we remove the decay and use a filling to restore the tooth.

A word on fillings

Fillings have a poor time in the press, we’re told often from childhood that they are bad and they represent dire dental hygiene and rotting teeth and should be something to be seriously ashamed of. We at Sohal Dental Practice don’t like shaming anyone about their teeth. Fillings are a great asset when trying to preserve teeth and modern fillings are unobtrusive and durable. They happen to the vast majority of people at one stage or another and they aren’t embarrassing, they’re a tool used to help protect your teeth from further damage.

Further care plans

If our dentist in Birmingham decides the tooth is beyond the point of just being treated with a filling then there are a number of other options available including crowns, root canals and extraction, sometimes followed by implants. These are all far more common that you realise and have come a long way in terms of comfort and recovery.

Dental hygiene

We promised we’d touch on this and really it’s very simple, cleaning your teeth correctly will help protect against the bacteria that cause decay building up. If you want to learn more about how to clean your teeth properly then come and chat to one of the team who will be glad to assist. Also attend check-ups with us every 6 months.