I take care of my teeth. Why do I still get cavities?
Question:
I brush regularly and floss when I can. Overall, I take very good care of my teeth. But why do I still get cavities?
Answer:
A number of factors come into play when it comes to keeping your teeth clean.
Are You Brushing Correctly?
First off, though you brush your teeth often, are you brushing them correctly? Make sure the bristles of your toothbrush reach every area on the tooth, including the back surface and especially the surface closest to the gumline, these are areas where bacteria usually build up.
Are You Flossing Correctly?
When you floss, do you guide the floss down below the gumline, following the curvature of the tooth? Flossing takes more than just moving the strand between the teeth, be sure to see our article on flossing for more details.
Number of Cavities Can Be Hereditary!
And sadly, research has shown that an individual’s ability to get cavities is hereditary…that’s right, HEREDITARY!!! So if your mother or father had a high number of cavities, than your risk of getting cavities is greatly increased. It’s not inevitable, it just means that your mouth’s pH is more favorable to bacterial growth and development. This means that you must take extra caution in your daily oral hygiene habits and the types of food that you consume.
Are You Eating the Right Foods?
Yet another factor that plays a large role in the development of cavities is diet. Of course, if you have a diet that’s high in carbohydrates and sugars, you can expect more cavities. So try to stay away from soda, candy, and a lot of bread on a regular basis.
Hope this helps and good luck!
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I normally see a regular dentist but I slacked for 2 years and x-rays showed I had 8 cavities, a tooth that had a root canal failed and now needs to be pulled because it never got capped and it also cracked and I have to pay for an implant to be put in, another tooth had chipped and needs a crown, in total everything is costing me around 5,000 dollars!
I brush and floss EVERY day and I never drink soda or eat very sugary foods. I was shocked when my X-rays came back so badly but my dentist (who also treats my mom) told me that I’m brushing very well but it’s probably in my genes. My mom has HORRIBLE teeth, she has had 9 implants put in and even if she takes excellent care of her teeth, she still gets problems.
Very frustrating but if I have any advice to anyone reading this, ALWAYS visit a dentist regularly so that they can catch any problems early on because if you wait like I did, you’ll end up being very broke! A few small cavities is much easier (and cheaper) to fix than having root canals or teeth pulled
I have the same problem ( well not same, but similar). I brush, use water irrigation, floss, touch scraper, and mouth wash everyday, but I still have a lot of cavities. I don’t eat much candy, drink a lot of soda or any other kind of sweet either. It doesn’t make any sense.
I have the same problem and it sucks. I can’t believe that I’m still getting cavities after I brush/floss/mouthwash my teeth.. I’m going for a dental check up next week to get them fixed. awesome.
i get alot of cavatitys and i brush with highfl oride perscription tooth paist 2 times a day i floss once a day and i have very bad luck im still getting them but i would recommend getting sealant put on all of your teeth plus take a calseum pill so it streghns you enamil and chew sugar free gum helpsbyou can still drink soda just diet and monster below zero energy drinks (no sugar no callories…all cafiene
actually something i find humorous is i had good brushing habits my entire life up until about 2 years ago, that’s when i became increasingly bad about it. in amazement, i brush my teeth for about 10 minutes every month or so…yeah that kind of sounds disgusting but my teeth stay white and i don’t come back with cavities = /. Yet when I’ve tried to brush consistently again, i found that when i went back to the dentist i had cavities again?
it’s a very funny system of hereditary it seems.. or perhaps the toothpaste actually weakens your teeth and makes you more susceptible to cavities when you skip a day or eat to much sugar.