Acid Producing Bacteria

When we were still kids, we always love to eat, chew and suck anything sweet like candies and chocolate bars; we even go to bed with a candy in our mouth. We really don’t care about having cavities because the only thing that we care about is grabbing anything that is sweet and tasty. When cavities do develop on our baby teeth, they usually come off later on and the next batch of teeth would always give us that brand new smile again, but that is just the last set of teeth and once we lose them, they're forever gone. As we grow older, sometimes our cravings for anything sweet grows and being adults with jobs, we always have the means to buy food the food we love and all the sweet stuff we could find is just a couple of dollars away.

Unfortunately it is not only us that are going nuts over some Krispy Kreme donuts or Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino and the likes, but those darn pesky bacteria that are lodging overtime in our mouth as well. Actually, if you think about it, these bacteria (about 600 different types of them in condo units) help in the first phase of digestion which happens in our mouth. There are a gazillion of these bacteria surfing in your tongue and wall climbing in your teeth. They’re too happy to help clean our mouth as well and will attack and horde on any food leftover in your mouth especially sugary substances from sweet pastries to sweet fruits.

Unfortunately for us, the assistance we get from these over eager bacteria is our demise in a dental point of view. Bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Actinomyces viscosus, and Streptococcus mutans convert sugar such as fructose, glucose and their all-time favorite sucrose into acids like lactic acid as waste by-products. These acidic “poop” waste materials are responsible for weakening the hardest part of our teeth which is the enamel. Overtime these acids eventually eat its way through the enamel and reaching the dentin and cementum area which is softer than the enamel. Once it reaches the pulp part of our teeth that’s where all hell breaks loose.

Our mouth has a natural defense for this acidic threat and that is none other than our very own saliva. Saliva acts as a buffer and neutralizes the acidity in our mouth as well as maintaining the ph balance. Still it pays well to assist our saliva by regularly cleaning our teeth by means of toothbrushing, dental flossing, mouth-washing and scheduled trips to the dentist. We can also help protect our teeth by lessening our frequent snaking with sweets too. By snaking on sugary food frequently creates an acidic environment which may eventually lower the ph balance and demineralize the enamel of our teeth which makes it prone to dental caries that leads to ugly cavities. Our saliva may not be able to cope up alone if we tend to have bad oral hygiene.

Certainly our fight against acid producing bacteria will be lost and our mouth will show the consequences of such oral hygiene negligence. Starting today, we should never hesitate visiting our Solihull Dentist as soon as possible and we should always keep a good oral hygiene to help preserve our precious pearly whites all through the days of our lives.