{"id":337,"date":"2016-11-13T17:55:40","date_gmt":"2016-11-13T17:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/blog\/?p=337"},"modified":"2017-03-21T18:25:37","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T18:25:37","slug":"dentist-in-mt-holly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/blog\/dentist-in-mt-holly\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-Term Cavities with Your Dentist in Mt. Holly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"elem-left size-medium wp-image-338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-501046951-300x172.jpg\" alt=\"Can my Mt. Holly dentist help me with my cavities? \" width=\"300\" height=\"172\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-501046951-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-501046951-768x440.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-501046951.jpg 781w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>It\u2019s easy to ignore small problems sometimes. Your car starts making a funny noise, but it still starts day after day, so it can wait. The fridge is looking\u00a0a little bare, so you\u2019ll just order out tonight and go to the store tomorrow. Many people take this same approach with their teeth. A small toothache or cavity doesn\u2019t stop them from functioning normally, so they just go about their day and don\u2019t address it. What can happen over the long-term? Your dentist in Mt. Holly at Mt. Holly Family Dentistry wants you to know a little more about what can happen if you leave cavities untreated.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Long-Term Cavities<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.webmd.com\/oral-health\/guide\/dental-health-cavities#1\" target=\"_blank\">Cavities<\/a> are caused by the plaque on your teeth breaking down the enamel. Plaque is constantly doing this, but hopefully you brush and floss it off each day. If it is left on your teeth for too long, it can finally eat through the enamel. Cavities take a long time develop, as in several months. This is why your dentist is comfortable only seeing you twice a year. However, if you leave a cavity alone for a very long time, a few things can happen.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, your tooth will simply keep decaying. Once the enamel has been eaten away, it can\u2019t restore itself. The best you can hope for is to maintain the remaining enamel. After the cavity has gotten through it, it will reach the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dentin\" target=\"_blank\">dentin<\/a>, which is a yellow substance that protects your tooth\u2019s nerve. Eventually the cavity will reach the dental pulp, and this is where the nerve of your tooth is located. At this point, things can get very serious.<\/p>\n<p>Once the dental pulp has started decaying, it can cause you extreme dental pain, and even lead to an infection that can spread to your gums and jaw. This can cause swelling that makes it extremely hard to eat and speak, and eventually the tooth will just fall out, but you will still have the infection. If it gets bad enough, you might even need oral surgery to correct it.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there are simple things you can do to prevent a cavity from getting to this point.<\/p>\n<h2>What You Can Do<\/h2>\n<p>Your first line of defense against cavities is brushing and flossing consistently. They are the most important steps you can take to protect yourself from plaque and tooth decay. You also need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/preventive-dentistry.html\">routinely visit your dentist at Mt. Holly Family Dentistry<\/a>. Cavities can be difficult to spot in their initial stages, but the doctors will be able to notice the smallest sign. This will enable them to treat you quickly and more conservatively.<\/p>\n<p>One treatment they might use is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/restorative-dentistry.html\">dental filling<\/a>, which uses a composite resin to restore your tooth\u2019s lost structure. If the cavity is quite advanced, root canal therapy can fix it. Long thought of as an extremely painful procedure, root canal therapy is now very routine and completely painless thanks to modern sedation techniques. It is actually one of the best ways to relieve the most extreme dental pain, not cause it.<\/p>\n<h2>Any Questions?<\/h2>\n<p>The key takeaway from this is that you should keep a consistent oral hygiene routine, and be sure to regularly see your dentist, especially if you think you have a cavity. A cavity can be a minor problem if treated early, or a major one if left alone.<\/p>\n<p>If you have any other questions about how you can prevent cavities and take care of your teeth, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/contact.html\">please give us a call today.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s easy to ignore small problems sometimes. Your car starts making a funny noise, but it still starts day after day, so it can wait. The fridge is looking\u00a0a little bare, so you\u2019ll just order out tonight and go to the store tomorrow. Many people take this same approach with their teeth. A small toothache [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Long-Term Cavities with Your Dentist in Mt. Holly - Mt. Holly Family Dentistry Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How long does it take for a cavity to develop? What happens if I leave it alone? Your dentist in Mt. Holly gives you these basic facts.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/blog\/dentist-in-mt-holly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Long-Term Cavities with Your Dentist in Mt. Holly - Mt. Holly Family Dentistry Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How long does it take for a cavity to develop? What happens if I leave it alone? Your dentist in Mt. Holly gives you these basic facts.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mthollyfamilydentistry.com\/blog\/dentist-in-mt-holly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mt. 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