How to Tell if You Have a Cavity

Many people realize they may have a cavity before going to see their dentist. Other cavities occur with no clear signs for you, whatsoever. Your dentist finds this early tooth decay using digital X-rays or a thorough exam during dental cleanings in Parker, Colorado. Using some simple signs from cavity symptoms, you can get to know how to tell if you have a cavity, before making your next dental appointment.

According to the National Institutes of Health, only the common cold affects more people than tooth decay. But, maybe you have made it through to adulthood without experiencing any cavities, or your dentist caught all decay before you saw any signs of a cavity forming. So what are the signs, for how to tell if you have a cavity?

How to Tell If You Have a Cavity

The biggest and boldest sign of how to tell if you have a cavity is the pain when eating sweets. That unmistakable tooth pain felt when chocolate or sugary snacks stick to your tooth tells anyone, “You need to go to the dentist.” But did you know that many cavities cause no pain? It is only after your decay breaks through tooth enamel to the tooth’s inner layers that you feel pain.

In other words, feeling your cavity means that tooth decay is progressing deep into your tooth. That is where dentin and nerves exist, triggering the cavity symptoms of pain felt by sugars and other substances you eat or drink.

Suffering from tooth sensitivity or pain as cavity symptoms mean you need to get to your dentist for a dental x-ray in CO. Maybe your pain is mild, or possibly quite sharp. Regardless of how it feels or what triggers it, almost any oral pain is a sign of a possible dental problem.

Sometimes you can see a cavity on your tooth. These problems create holes in your teeth that often turn black, brown, or white. Touching this area with your toothbrush, finger, or sweet foods often feels intensely painful. But if you see a spot on your tooth and feel no pain, you still possibly have a cavity that needs dental care.

Cavity Symptoms and the Cause of a Cavity

Cavities form from the bacteria in your mouth. This bacteria either helps you stay healthy or harms your teeth and other oral structures. When you eat foods, the bacteria feed on food residue, producing plaque acids. Those plaque acids erode your tooth enamel and enable cavities to form.

You can prevent early-stage cavities before you need dental treatment. That is, if you brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice daily, use a fluoride rinse and floss each day. But by the time you see or feel a cavity, you need general dentistry services in Colorado. When caught early, tooth decay no longer must lead to tooth loss, as in the past.

If you already have a cavity, the general dentist will perform a cavity filling in Parker to protect your tooth. The dentist will clean out the bacteria and causes of the cavity and fill it to reduce future damage to the same spot.

Signature Smiles Dentistry to Prevent Cavities

Routine dental cleaning in Parker Colorado goes a long way for preventing cavities and other oral health problems, like gum disease. Visiting the dentist regularly is one of the most important things you do for your overall health, too.

Other dental services in Parker CO you possibly need include:

• Lumineers in Parker
• Dental implants in CO
• Cavity fillings
• Dental crowns
• Oral surgery in Parker

To learn more about how to tell if you have a cavity, contact Signature Smiles Dentistry. Call us now at 720.513.8405 to learn how to care for your oral health.