War on the Teeth: Common problems

This oral health article is brought to you by Unilever GhanaCLOSEUP Day + Night Brushing Campaign. Oral diseases are among the most common problems in the world, and affect almost everybody at some point in their lives. However, that doesn’t mean they are an inevitable fact of life. The vast majority of oral diseases are caused by bacteria living in the mouth. As anywhere else in our bodies, there are millions of bacteria living in our mouths at any one time. However, of the many different types of bacteria, only a few are real troublemakers, causing infection and tooth decay. Fortunately, we can interrupt the build-up of bacteria through brushing with a fluoride toothpaste morning and night. During the night your saliva drops to a very low level. This leaves teeth vulnerable to acid attacks from bacteria, which can lead to cavities. Here is a list of the commonest oral nasties to watch out for:

Plaque is a soft, sticky white-yellowish film made up of growing bacteria and food residue. In just one milligram of plaque, there can be as many as 200 to 500 million bacteria. If you ever run your tongue over your teeth and feel like they’re ‘furry’ – well, that’s plaque. Left alone, plaque will irritate your gums and can cause cavities in your teeth. Brush your teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste to reduce plaque build-up in your mouth.
Tartar or calculus is a hard, pale yellowish substance that forms from long-term build-up of plaque as bacteria die off and mineralise. It irritates gums and harbours bacteria. Once it’s formed you can’t remove tartar with a toothbrush but you can slow its growth by using specially formulated anti-tartar toothpaste. Your dentist can advise you on professional cleaning, but the best defence is to remove plaque before it can form tartar by brushing morning and night.
Periodontal or gum disease is caused when plaque creeps down to the gum line and irritates the gum. This first stage of gum disease is called gingivitis and symptoms include redness, swelling and bleeding gums, but it is usually pain-free and therefore easy to ignore. If the inflammation is allowed to progress and reaches deeper into the gum, the condition may worsen and the attachment tissues that anchor the tooth root in the jaw can break down. This can make the tooth loose and may eventually even lead to tooth loss. This more severe form of the disease is called periodontitis. Some people are unlucky and particularly prone to gum disease, but everybody can give themselves the best chance of avoiding problems, by removing plaque from their teeth as carefully as they can. This includes brushing with fluoride toothpaste morning and night.
Tooth decay or ’cavities’: dental decay occurs when sugars in food are turned into acid by particular bacteria on the teeth. The acid attack can last up to one hour and calcium is lost from the teeth. Saliva acts as the mouth's natural protection and can give back some calcium to the teeth: in the very early stages, decay can be reversed. But frequent acid attacks can weaken the enamel so much that the damage is permanent and a cavity forms. Once through to the softer dentin, the decay can start causing pain. When it reaches the pulp, the infection can lead to an abscess and the tooth may become so broken down that it cannot be saved.

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