While everyone loves chocolate, your sweet tooth can have a serious effect on your smile if you’re not too careful... It always feels good to treat yourself every once in a little while. Buying that item we’ve been saving up for, taking an R&R day, and finally reading the book that’s been on your reading list for months. Even eating chocolate can seem like the tastiest luxury. However, this sweet snack might be nice during the moment, but you should take care that it never becomes an everyday food. Regularly eating chocolate not only increases your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, but it can also have a nasty effect on your smile. Sugar and Tooth Decay Although we typically think of chocolate as cocoa, milk chocolate, the most popular and prevalent kind, is mostly sugar and powdered milk rather than natural cacao. Sugar is especially notorious for its ability to speed up the tooth decay process. Just as sugar is addictive to our taste buds, it’s also addictive to certain oral bacteria. These bacteria create a gross film of plaque over our teeth, which slowly demineralizes and erodes our enamel. Eventually, tooth decay finally breaks through the surface, making a hole called a cavity. Tooth decay makes its appearance with these common symptoms: White spots on teeth, which may darken over time Toothache that’s sharp or can come and go Visible hole in tooth Sensitivity to hot and cold Lingering sensitivity to sweets Pain when chewing Chronic bad breath and taste in your mouth What will happen if a cavity is left untreated? As cavities worsen, bacteria and decay move from the dentin layer immediately below the enamel into the center-most dental pulp. Pulp contains the vulnerable blood vessels and nerves, which are the only things keeping the tooth alive. Attacking these crucial structures can be incredibly painful. The toothache that appears is often the first sign patients have that they should see their dentist immediately. Without emergency treatment, the cavity will only continue to eat its way through the dental pulp to the tooth’s root. In the last tooth decay stage, a pocket of pus called an abscess can develop at the tooth’s base. This abscess will need to be drained, or else the infection can spread throughout your mouth. At its worst, potentially life-threatening sepsis may form, though this is rare. If you don’t receive immediate treatment at this point, the tooth may die.

Can You Make A Cavity Go Away? One of the insidious things about cavities is that they can’t disappear once they form. Since they are physical holes in your tooth, no amount of brushing or flossing is capable of restoring your missing enamel or dental tissue. Your dentist will need to remove the damaged parts of the tooth and restore its look, feel, and function by filling in the hole left behind. There are two primary ways that we do this: Dental Filling. For smaller cavities that don’t breach much of the tooth’s surface, a dental filling uses composite resin to fill in the hole left behind by your decay. Dental Crown. Dental crowns are necessary when there is more extensive damage than a standard tooth filling can cover. They can either be made of porcelain to restore a tooth’s natural look or with metals for a longer-lasting effect. Once the decay reaches the dental pulp at the tooth’s center, you’ll need to have a root canal done. During this procedure, your dentist will remove all of the infected pulp down to the root. This treatment can also allow us to drain any dental abscesses that may have formed. As multiple canals or roots may require clearing, leaving your hollow tooth weak. After filling it with gutta-percha, your tooth will then be reinforced with either a filling or crown. When Should A Tooth Be Removed? As powerful as a root canal can be, a cavity is sometimes too far along for us to save your tooth from decay. Once a dental abscess has begun infecting nearby gum tissue, most or all of the dental pulp is destroyed. Your tooth pain may suddenly disappear, signaling that the tooth is on the brink of death—if it hasn’t died already. Nothing can be done except remove the tooth entirely. The tooth bacteria and decay would otherwise spread to the rest of your mouth, creating even more painful problems. Is Dark Chocolate Good For You? Unlike its lighter siblings, dark chocolate relies more on cacao than sugar and powdered milk to give it its flavors. This small change makes a major impact on how your sweet treat affects your dental and general health. Cacao is notable for its ability to lower “bad” cholesterol and raise “good” cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of heart disease, and keep your skin hydrated and smooth. Evidence also shows that it improves blood flow to the brain, allowing your mind to work more efficiently. When it comes to your smile, cacao contains antioxidants that help keep your tooth enamel better protected against tooth decay, cavities, and gum disease. It can limit oral bacteria and even prevent certain bacteria from turning sugar against your smile. Some studies show that cacao may be better at preventing cavities than fluoride, the top home remedy for reversing first-stage tooth decay. However, your chocolate will need to be at least 70% cacao for it to overcome its sugar content. Does this mean you can add a square or two of dark chocolate with each of your meals for a healthy, cavity-fighting boost? As tasty as it might be, no, you shouldn’t. While dark chocolate is healthier than milk or white chocolate, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with its own issues. There is still enough sugar content that can pile up to cause both dental and general health problems. Tooth Stains and Yellowing There is one vice that both milk and dark chocolate share: tooth discoloration. Enamel isn’t impenetrable and solid like we typically think. While this may be useful for fighting off tooth decay, it does have its downsides: staining and discoloration. Cacao gives chocolate two of its distinctive features: its taste and its color. The more cacao a chocolate has, the darker its pigment. The darker the pigment, the worse the teeth stains and yellowing will be.

How Can I Whiten My Teeth Quickly? While your sweet tooth may add up to a smile full of yellow teeth, you don’t have to suffer with a smile you dislike or try to hide. There are ways that you can whiten your smile. While most patients know that they can gradually brighten their teeth with over-the-counter whitening strips or toothpastes, these generic products aren’t very powerful. They can take weeks and even months to minimal effect. If you want drastic results fast, you should try one of these professional cosmetic treatments: Office Teeth Whitening For the best teeth whitening results, you should visit your dentist for an in-office whitening session. A cosmetic dentist applies high-grade dental peroxide to your teeth, monitoring your progress and handling everything so you can sit back and relax. We can strip away over a decade of chocolate and other teeth stains in a single hour-long visit. You’ll walk away from your appointment with bright, white teeth more than half a dozen shades lighter. Professional Teeth Whitening Kit You can also use a professional teeth whitening kit to brighten your smile in the comfort of your home. We’ll provide you with custom trays designed to match your natural smile and a whitening peroxide gel that’s much stronger and efficient than store-bought products. By wearing these trays for 30 minutes to an hour each day, you can achieve nearly the same results as an office whitening. Just be sure to use your kit only as instructed by your cosmetic dentist. Dental Bonding and Porcelain Veneers Dental peroxide isn’t the only way you can quickly brighten your smile. Other cosmetic dentistry procedures like tooth bonding and porcelain veneers can remake your tooth’s enamel to look precisely how you want. Not only does this include removing yellowing and teeth stains, but bonding and veneers can also fix: Cosmetic cracks and chips Gaps between teeth Mild crookedness Wear and tear Dental bonding works by applying composite, the same material used in dental fillings, over the tooth’s surface where we need. This can be used minimally to fix isolated problems like chips, or more liberally over the entire enamel for more comprehensive issues like yellowing. Unlike bonding, porcelain veneers don’t spot-treat but instead completely redesign your tooth using a thin porcelain facade for a more drastic effect. To prevent bulkiness, we will prepare your tooth for your veneers beforehand by lightly shaving a thin layer from your enamel. This process is harmless and can even remove early-stage tooth decay. No matter which you choose, you can have a brilliant, beautiful smile in just one or two appointments.