There is a hole in the tooth and it smells bad.

Everyone has some little habits, which are neither good nor bad, but we can't help but do them. Just like some children can't help rolling their eyes, or some adults like to pick their toes when they sit down. Of course, there is another type of people who will always lick their teeth if there is something stuck in their teeth, such as eating lean meat. After licking your teeth for a long time, you will find that a hole will gradually appear on your teeth, a piece is missing, and there is a bad smell inside the teeth. Why is this?

First, let’s talk about why there are holes in teeth. Many friends would say, I brush my teeth diligently, rarely eat sweets, and my teeth have never been knocked or dented, so how come a hole suddenly appeared?

This hole is actually a cavity caused by tooth decay destroying the tooth. If you think that you will not get cavities if you just don’t eat sweets and brush your teeth honestly, then you are too naive!

Tooth decay is actually caused by food residues in our mouths containing sugar, which adheres to the teeth and ferments with bacteria to produce acid. The acid slowly eats away at your teeth, gradually forming cavities. There are four major factors that determine the formation of tooth decay, including: food, bacteria (the composition and proportion of caries-causing bacteria in the mouth), teeth (composition and structure) and time (the time that food remains on the tooth surface). As long as these four conditions are met, it is difficult to avoid tooth decay.

However, the formation of tooth cavities does not happen overnight, it is also a process of change. When food residues ferment with bacteria on the tooth surface to produce acid, the acidic substance slowly begins to corrode the teeth, causing tooth demineralization. At this time, it is still reversible, but if tooth demineralization is left unattended, it will slowly corrode into a small hole. At this time, real tooth decay is formed, which is irreversible. If you don't treat the tooth cavity in time, it will become bigger and deeper, and you will eventually lose the tooth.

So why does it stink so much?

As mentioned before, tooth decay is actually mainly caused by bacteria and other factors. The bacteria in the decayed teeth will continue to erode the teeth. It is also easier for food to get stuck in the teeth when eating, causing food residues to remain in the tooth holes. If not cleaned properly, these residues will decompose and ferment under the action of bacteria and microorganisms, thereby producing an unpleasant odor. At this time, don’t blame yourself for having bad breath, it’s because you didn’t treat your cavities!

Okay, that’s all for today’s science popularization. If you have other topics you want to talk about, please leave a message and chat!