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How To Get Rid Of Cavities- Natural Ways To Recover!
If you are not fortunate enough to have cavity-free teeth, you must be familiar with ways on how to get rid of cavities for your oral health. Most people deal with cavities as a regular part of their lives. Even if you stay away from sugary drinks or food and brush your teeth regularly with flossing, you might get cavities.
Dental cavities are also known as caries are tiny holes in your teeth’ outer surface or hard surface. They occur due to bacterias on the surface creating acid from sugar. The most common bacteria responsible for cavities is Streptococcus Mutans.
These particular bacterias produce a sticky film on the teeth called plaque which has acid. This acid works as a demineralizing agent and removes the minerals present in an outer layer called the enamel of your teeth. Enamel is a coating made of phosphate and calcium and acts as a protective layer. This erosion of minerals gives rise to tiny holes in the outer layer or surface of teeth. Once the acid damage travels underneath the enamel into the dentin layer, it gives rise to the cavity.
Plaque is more likely to build up in places like:
- Pits, cracks, and grooves in the teeth.
- In between your teeth.
- Around the fillings, especially when they are broken or chipped.
- In proximity to the gum lines.
Over time, this decay travels to the inner layer of your teeth called dentin. It is possible to prevent the development of cavities using certain home remedies when the cavity is at the pre-cavity stage. This stage is when the decay has just created a hole in the enamel or outer layer but has not traveled deep down the dentis.
Here’s what you need to know on how to get rid of cavities.
How to get rid of cavities at home
Most of the home treatments involved in “how to get rid of cavities” are based on a study conducted in the 1930s which published that cavities are a result of lack of vitamin D in your diet. In the study conducted, kids were asked to add vitamin D to their diet. The kids who followed the advice or participated in the study showed a reduction in their cavities.
However, kids who added vitamin D along with getting rid of grain products from the diet showed excellent results. This might be due to the reason that grains often stick to our teeth and bacterias can act upon them to convert into a cavity.
Also, not having enough amount of vitamin D makes our teeth more prone to cavity damage, but now it is understood with the help of research that this is only a small part of the puzzle related to the development of cavities. Other risk factors related to cavity formation are:
- Bedtime feeding to the infant.
- Not cleaning the teeth adequately
- Heartburn due to acid formation.
- Eating sugary drinks or food too often such as cereals, soda, and ice cream.
- Eating food items that cling to your teeth like sticky food or candy.
- Having a dry mouth or a medical condition that normally decreases the amount of saliva that should be present in your mouth.
Results from a study in 2014 indicate that using toothpaste rich in fluoride significantly hardens the outer layer of enamel giving your teeth extra protection to fight the cavity-causing bacteria.
Once the cavity penetrates within the dentin, you will not be able to follow these remedies to treat them, you are needed to visit a dentist. The home remedies you are about to read will help you prevent cavities and treat pre cavities. They work by remineralizing the demineralized areas in the teeth. Here are all the ways on how to get rid of cavities in the initial stages.
1. Sugar-free gum
Chewing a pack of sugar-free gum after you have had your meal is shown to help remineralize the enamel as per clinical trials. Get a gum having Xylitol as it has been reported to stimulate the flow of saliva, reduce Streptococcus mutans bacteria, and raise the pH level of plaque reducing chances of cavities. However, long-term and vast studies are needed to affirm the facts.
Another compound in some sugar-free gums called CPP-ACP (Casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate) is also great to reduce Streptococcus mutans and works better than xylitol-containing gum. You can easily locate these gums in stores.
2. How to get rid of cavities through Oil Pulling
Oil pulling is gaining immense popularity on the internet. It is an ancient system of medicine and is considered an alternative to Ayurveda. It includes swishing a tbsp of coconut oil or sesame oil in your mouth for a specific time and then spitting the oil out.
While some claims by the practitioners regarding oil pulling have no scientific research to support it, research has revealed that it improves the overall health of teeth. One study from the year 2019 found out that sesame oil as the main oil used in oil pulling was able to reduce bacteria and plaque to a similar extent as Mouthwash.
Now that oil pulling is useful in reducing plaque, it can help in remineralizing the enamel layer to prevent cavities. However, more studies are required to confirm the facts and claims stated here.
3. How to get rid of cavities with the help of Vitamin D
Vitamin D is necessary to help in the absorption of phosphate and calcium from the food you consume. Studies have released that there is an inverse relationship between eating meals high in calcium and vitamin D like yogurt and Cavities in children.
You can obtain a good amount of vitamin D from dairy items like yogurt and milk. You may also get sufficient vitamin D from exposure to the sun in the morning.
3. How to get rid of cavities using Aloe vera
Aloe vera tooth gel might assist in fighting off the bacterias that cause plaque and cavities. Aloe vera gel has an antibacterial effect that kills or destroys harmful bacteria within the mouth as per a review from the year 2015.
However, more studies and researches are needed to view the effects of aloe vera gel on remineralizing the enamel at its pre cavity stage.
4. How to get rid of cavities using a fluoride toothpaste
Fluoride is highly important in preventing the development of cavities in teeth and helps in remineralizing the enamel layer. A lot of research has been done to reveal that brushing your teeth regularly using fluoride-rich toothpaste can help significantly in reducing calories.
Most studies conducted to show the importance of fluoride were either in adolescents or children, so more studies or research may be required to confirm the results on elderly people and adults.
5. Avoid Phytic acid
Phytic acid might damage the enamel on your tooth and people believe that cutting phytic acid out of the diet also helps prevent cavities and tooth decay.
A study from the year 2004 suggested that phytic acid affects the absorption of minerals from food. Many online articles have used this study to conclude if it should be present in your diet or not. They recommend that phytic acid might break down the minerals in the outer layer of enamel too which leads to the decaying of the tooth. But, you must note that this study included only 20 participants. This suggests that we cannot rely completely on the information as extensive researches is required.
Phytic acid is commonly present in legumes and cereals including wheat, maize, rye, rice, haricot beans, kidney beans, navy beans, pinto beans, broad beans, and blackeye beans.
More researches are needed to determine if phytic acid is really bad for the enamel or not.
6. Avoid eating sugary food
This is the most used cavity remedy. It is quite obvious that you will not love the remedy but cutting out sugar from your diet has multiple benefits. The WHO recommends that eating sugar is one of the most vital risks that lead to the formation of cavities. It is recommended that you stop intaking sugar and eat less than 10% of sugar in your daily calorie count.
If you wish to eat sugar, try not to eat sugary snacks the whole day as eating once a day helps the sugar to go away within a few minutes which enables your teeth with enough time to remineralize. But, if you keep eating sugary food and sugary snacks constantly, your teeth will not get enough time or chance to remineralize again.
Sugar is the main component that mixes with bacteria in your mouth and leads to the formation of acid that breaks down the enamel.
7. How to get rid of cavities using licorice root
Licorice root has antibacterial properties that help combat the bacteria-causing cavity. Extracts from the licorice plant or Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Chinese plant) help improve oral health.
A study suggests that sucking on a licorice extract containing a lollipop might assist in preventing cavities. However, the researches are not sufficient and more of them are needed to approve these lollipops t prevent cavity.
These were 7 tips on how to get rid of cavities. If you have followed all the tips but the cavity has reached the dentist, you must see a doctor. There may be some other reasons too for which visiting a doctor is helpful. Here’s what you need to know:
When to visit a doctor
A lot of dental issues such as deep cavities usually develop initially without causing pain r showing any other symptom. Regular checkups from the dentist are a great way to spot the cavity beforehand and prevent it from getting worse. Early diagnosis is an easier path to recovery soon.
The doctors will help you treat the cavities using the following:
- Fluoride treatment– Fluoride treatments from expertise dentists contain more fluoride than general toothpaste and mouthwashes that you obtain at the stores. If your teeth condition requires a stronger fluoride treatment, the dentist might prescribe one for recovery or remineralization.
- Fillings– This is the principle treatment when the cavity spreads beyond the enamel and reached deep down the dentis layer.
- Crowns– This is a “cap” or custom-filled covering that is placed on the hollow teeth to treat it in case of extensive decay.
- Root canals- When the decay reaches the pulp or inner material of teeth, you might have to undergo a root canal.
- Tooth extractions– This includes the removal of decayed teeth in severe situations.
Complications To Note
Tooth decay and cavities are common but you must take them seriously. Simply following home remedies might not be completely useful in stopping or fighting cavities. You must visit a dentist for more guidance. Even for children who have baby teeth right now, it must be taken seriously as cavities may lead to the following complications:
- Chewing issues
- Positioning changes or shifts of your teeth after a tooth loss
- Inflammation or pus around the tooth
- Damage and broken teeth
- Pain
- Tooth ulcers or a tooth abscess
When these cavities and tooth decay become worse, you might also face:
- Pain that intervenes with your daily living
- Weight loss and nutrition difficulties from unpleasant and difficult eating or chewing
- Loss of tooth which might influence your appearance, as well as your self-confidence and self-esteem
- In exceptional cases, a tooth abscess may be formed which is a pocket of pus-like fluid caused as a result of bacterial infection. This may lead to more dangerous or even life-threatening oral diseases
The Bottom Line
You might now understand how to get rid of cavities using home remedies. However, know that these remedies would not help you completely in getting rid of cavities but these may help stop cavities from spreading further.
The earlier you detect a cavity, the easier the treatment. Going for regular checkups is the best option to spot a cavity and remineralize the enamel as soon as possible.
These were some useful points and home remedies to know about- how to get rid of cavities!
