Why are our teeth deep?

When finding 15,000-year-old human skeletons, a group of archaeologists discovered something quite interesting. It is the teeth of these ancient people who have many holes because of tooth decay. Just like today, the cause of tooth decay for ancient people is due to the tiny microorganisms that live in our mouths.

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From the moment of birth, these microorganisms exist in our mouths. When people grow teeth, the kind of food we eat every day determines certain types of bacteria that will dominate the mouth. This is also the cause of tooth decay.

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A high sugar diet will facilitate the growth of Streptococci Mutans strains in the mouth. Sugar is the food of these microorganisms. Bacteria will produce byproducts as Lactic Acid when consuming sugar. Lactic acid cannot affect Streptococci Mutans but it is different with our teeth.

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Each human tooth is covered by a strong protective enamel. But unfortunately before the attack of acid, this layer of enamel is not completely resistant and degraded, causing the amount of calcium to be lost.

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Gradually, acid erodes the protective enamel outside the teeth and opens the way for bacteria to attack the second layer called dentin. At this stage, we absolutely do not feel pain because of blood vessels and nerves located deep in the teeth.

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If this process continues, the bacteria will spread through the dentin and go deep into the tooth, reaching the nerves. At this time, tooth decay will cause pain. Teeth will be damaged, even removed if not treated promptly.

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The higher the amount of sugar in the food, the more likely the tooth is attacked by bacteria and the higher the tooth decay.

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On the menu of prehistoric people there are roots, seeds and cereals, all of which contain carbon hydrates. When encountering enzymes in saliva, Carbon Hydrate is converted into simple sugars, so ancient people, although not consuming as much sugar as we do today, can still suffer from tooth decay.

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Today, our food is full of sugar, so the majority of human beings suffer from tooth decay. In particular, some people with the genetic material of softer tooth enamel are more susceptible to tooth decay than the rest. But the main cause of tooth decay is due to eating too much sugar.

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Fortunately, we now have many methods to prevent and treat tooth decay problems. However, the best way to prevent tooth decay is to eliminate bacteria and their food supply by reducing sugar consumption and performing daily clean oral hygiene. This includes avoiding sugary foods, lots of starches that stick to your teeth by regularly brushing your teeth and flossing after eating. This will reduce the amount of sweet-loving bacteria in your mouth. Lower your chances of tooth decay and make your teeth feel good with the dentist in Lancaster. 

Micah Soto

Update 18 May 2019