Dental Caries
Early Dental Caries:
The early stage of dental caries occurs in the enamel
of a tooth. Early Dental Caries is usually painless and the tooth surface seems
intact when examined by the naked eye. Caries at the adjacent tooth surfaces are
even more difficult to be detected and they often need to be confirmed by X-ray.
Treatment:
The early caries lesions can be repaired by highly concentrated
topical fluoride applied by dentist.
Dental Caries spreads into dentine:
A cavity appears on the tooth and pain is felt when eating.
Treatment:
• A filling can be placed if the caries lesion
is relatively small and the structure of the tooth remains strong.
• A crown has to be made when caries lesion is
wide-spread and the remaining tooth structure is weak.
Dental Caries spreads into pulp:
At this stage, the caries lesion is very obvious and causes severe pain. The pulp
tissues are infected by the bacteria and may become necrotic. The bacteria may even
spread from the pulp to the surrounding periodontal tissues via the apex of the
tooth, cause inflammation and lead to the formation of abscess.
Treatment:
• Endodontic treatment followed by filling or
crown, depending on the condition of the remaining
tooth structure.
• If pulp treatment is not applicable, an extraction
will be necessary.