One crummy little tooth. Less than 1/2 square inch of your entire body, a mere pittance of your total being. But when a cavity hits deep, with its pounding and throbbing and aching and wild reactions to anything as cold as ice cream, your being can be totally in the pits.
Sometimes it's so bad that you actually want to sit with your mouth open, staring at the ceiling, while some guy grinds into your tooth with a high-speed drill. So you know we're talking pain!
Since remedying already formed cavities is no do-it-yourself job (unless you're incredibly adept with power tools), you can help avoid this double whammy of torment by practicing that old dental hygiene adage: An ounce of prevention cures a lot of pounding.
How? You already know the importance of brushing and flossing daily. "Hey, we get tired of saying it as much as you get tired of hearing it," says David S. Halpern, D.M.D., a dentist in Columbia, Maryland, who is spokesdentist for the Academy of General Dentistry. "But doing a good job of brushing and flossing every day is the best way to prevent cavities and keep your teeth healthy." But there are a few other secrets.
Use a straw. Cola, fruit juice and other sugared or acidic drinks can decay teeth, causing cavities. But you can minimize their damage by "bypassing" teeth and drinking these beverages with a straw, says Dr. Halpern. "Decay is formed when teeth are literally bathed in these drinks, but when you use a straw, the drinks go directly to the back of your throat and have much less chance of affecting your teeth."
Drink water-even when you're not thirsty. "If you can't brush and floss after eating, swish some water around your mouth," adds Dr. Halpern. "This helps flush food and debris away from teeth and dilutes some of the bacteria from your mouth that cause cavities." If you can disrupt this bacteria activity, you can nip cavity-forming decay in the bud.
Don't milk that bottle. Kids who fall asleep with milk in their mouths are risking "baby bottle syndrome"-severe decay that affects children's primary teeth. "Just as the baby is falling asleep, replace the milk with a bottle of water to avoid this," says Dr. Halpern.
Change your toothbrush often. Some people keep the same toothbrush for years, which does practically nothing to help prevent cavities. "When the bristles get frayed and wear out, the toothbrush doesn't do an efficient job of cleaning," says Wistar Paist, D.M.D., a dentist in Allentown, Pennsylvania. "Once the bristles start curving or leaning over, it's time to toss it and get a new one. Certainly don't keep the same brush more than three months."
Brush up on good brush buying. Some toothbrushes are better than others, according to the American Dental Association (ADA), which puts the label "professionally recognized" on about 45 toothbrushes. Studies show that curved-bristle brushes (called Collis-Curve toothbrushes) improve plaque removal 63 percent compared with traditional straight-bristle brushes. (They're available at some health food stores.) And brushes with soft, round-ended, polished bristles are less likely to cause gum damage than those with ordinary bristles. Also, a brush with a curved head may be more effective than a straight-handled toothbrush: "I think that's because most people find curved brushes are easier to use," says Dr. Paist. So look for these characteristics--and the ADA label-next time you go brush shopping.
Time your snacks. Even more important than what you eat is when you eat it in relation to brushing and flossing your teeth. "The decaying process starts the moment sugar enters your mouth and lasts for about 20 minutes afterward," says Barry Dale, D.M.D., an Englewood, New Jersey, cosmetic dentist who is also assistant clinical professor at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.
Adds Dr. Halpern: "Believe it or not, if you ate a pound of chocolate and immediately brushed and flossed, you'd have less of a problem than if you had just one chocolate kiss and then went to bed without brushing."
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Say "cheese" for a healthy smile. Studies by Ralph Burgess, D.D.S., head of preventive dentistry at the University of Toronto Dental School, revealed that topping off a meal with a piece of aged cheese also helps take the bite out of tooth decay. "The chewiness and taste stimulate saliva tremendously, which washes away the sugars from food," says Dr. Burgess. "And the high levels of calcium and phosphate in the cheese form a kind of protective barrier in the plaque. (The acids that cause tooth decay also reduce the calcium and phosphate in your teeth; eating cheese helps prevent this loss.) Cheddar works best, but a few bites of any kind of hard aged cheese will do." (Other aged cheeses include Gouda, provolone, Edam and Gruyere-not processed or American.)
Chew some sugarless gum. Chew a stick of sugarless gum for about 20 minutes immediately after eating and you'll actually help prevent cavities. That's because sugarless gum is made with xylitol, a natural sweetener (also found in fruits and vegetables) that helps knock out microorganisms that form plaque and encourage cavities. "The gum mixes up bacteria before they have a chance to organize; once the bacteria get organized in one place, they can do a lot of damage," says Dr. Halpern. "The gum also stimulates saliva flow, which helps flush away food debris." But note that he specifies sugarless gum, which doesn't add sugar-a main ingredient in the bad guy bacteria.
Clean your teeth with toothpicks. A blunt-tipped toothpick, used carefully, is an excellent way to dislodge food before it can form into harmful, decaying bacteria, says Dr. Halpern.
Take antacids if you need them. "People who bring up a lot of acid from stomach problems such as gastritis need to take Tums or another antacid to counter the acidic environment in their stomachs," says Dr. Halpern. "That's because these acids can erode the enamel of their teeth--usually the backs of their front teeth-making them more susceptible to decay and increasing tooth sensitivity."
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