<< Topic in Family Dentist Dentistry Dental Office in Tempe AZ >>
Dentist is like a detective. Sometimes the cavity can be inconspicuous. It might look innocent on the surface but it may be more extensive after dentist worked on the tooth and then the cavity becomes apparent. For example, for this patient, small cavity is detected on the biting surface of the tooth. Small black dots in the pits and fissures.
However, upon closer examination, on the edge or the side of the tooth near the next adjacent tooth, there is a greyish shadow under the tooth structure. There is a small defect on the edge. This leads to suspicion of cavity in between the two teeth. So after patient agrees to work on the tooth, I remove the top surface layer of the enamel. Then I can see clearly that there is a cavity shown by the brownish black area in close contact with the adjacent tooth.
Thus, not all cavity is all apparent. Cavity can develop anywhere on a tooth. Often cavity will develop in between the two teeth. With regular dental checkup, dentist can help find those cavities and render treatment before it gets much worse. The consequence of not treating small cavity is that it will become larger and with enough time, the cavity can progress into the nerve pulp of a tooth and cause toothache.
Written by Daniel Tee, DDS, MS
Dental Office in Tempe AZ
Serving the city of Tempe, Chandler, Phoenix, Gilbert, and Mesa in Arizona. Practicing General Dentist
