Dental Decay

The tooth surface may look hard and shiny, but it is pitted with tiny cracks, and acid produced by mouth bacteria enters these cracks and enlarges them by dissolving the enamel. This makes the tooth surface even rougher, so more bacteria can gain a foothold in areas where they cannot be easily cleaned off .At first, this process is reversible and minerals are deposited from the saliva to replace those lose from the tooth surface. But we eat vast amounts of sugar, and the damage to tooth is usually great than the repair process can cope with.

Eventually the tooth surface becomes spongy and soft, and the path of decay gradually penetrates right through the enamel into the softer dentine beneath where decay proceeds even faster.
Up to this point, dental decay does not cause any pain or discomfort, but once the cavity reaches the dentine, where there are tiny nerves, toothache may be experienced. If the damage is not repaired the cavity eventually penetrates right through to the hollow center of the tooth, allowing bacteria to enter and infect the pulp which fills the tooth. This procures swelling and inflammation, like infections elsewhere in the body. but trapped in the tooth cavity the pulp in unable to swell, so pressure builds up causing acute pain. Eventually, this infects material may be forced our of the hole in the root of the tooth in the gum, causing a very painful abscess.