The cavity increases in size, compromising your tooth's stability. The cavity deepens and may lead to a brittle tooth and even a fracture. The decay reaches your nerve, and you require a root canal or in severe cases an extraction.
Like most ailments, the longer you leave a cavity without treatment, the worse it's going to get. In a span of 3-6 months cavities can reach the nerve of your tooth.
An untreated cavity can have drastic results that can be so severe that they may even cause death. Cavities are a gateway to infection, which can spread fast the longer it goes untreated.
Leaving a cavity unattended is one of the worst things you can do for your dental health. When treated early, small spots of tooth decay require little more than a quick, painless filling — but when ignored, a cavity can turn into a significant problem that costs you more stress, pain and time in the long run.
First, a cavity can only be seen on an x-ray once it has dissolved 20-30% of the tooth structure so it may not have been obvious last visit. And cavities can grow fast on some patients! Second, some teeth have rotations and malalignments that cause cavities to be very elusive from standard x-ray positions.
Unfortunately, if treatment is delayed for too long, a small cavity can transform into a serious issue that will negatively affect your oral health. Our family dentists at MI Smiles Dental will all resoundingly tell you that it is not wise to wait extensive amounts of time to fill a cavity.
If the decay reaches your tooth's main structure, called dentin, then a filling can replace the lost tooth structure after your dentist has cleaned the cavity of bacteria and infection. However, if it reaches the tooth's center chamber, called the pulp, a filling may no longer suffice to address it.
The short answer to the title question is that, in the truest sense, a cavity is not a dental emergency. However, if you are experiencing dental pain in any form, you should consult our dentist for a triage consultation.
In most cases, by the time you notice the symptoms of tooth decay, it will be too late to reverse the damage with natural methods. You will need to consult your dentist to prevent the damage from spreading to other areas of the tooth.
If the damage gets down through the enamel, deeper into the inner layer or dentin, you're more likely to: Feel a toothache or feel pain when eating, drinking or biting down. Feel sensitivity to hot, cold or sweet food and drinks. Develop a bad taste in your mouth, or bad breath.
Every Cavity Is Different
Some people have softer tooth enamel than others, making it easier for bacteria or acid to penetrate the tooth. On average, as a broad timeline, it can take anywhere from six months to four or five years before a cavity needs treatment.
Every Cavity Is Different. The time it takes for a cavity to form varies. It can, on average, take anywhere from six months to four or five years before a cavity requires treatment. The length of time it takes will vary on a case-by-case basis because the conditions of your mouth differ daily.
If a cavity goes untreated for two years or longer, severe damage to the tooth is likely. You will notice discoloration around the tooth, swelling around the gums, and severe pain and sensitivity. The bacteria will probably have damaged the tooth root and pulp at this point. You may lose the tooth.
If you wait to have a root canal, you're only providing that infection more time to gain strength and spread. Infection can spread from the tooth into the bloodstream, and then you have a much more serious issue than a common and routine dental practice.
Untreated cavities can cause pain and infections that may lead to problems with eating, speaking, playing, and learning. Untreated cavities can lead to abscess (a severe infection) under the gums which can spread to other parts of the body and have serious, and in rare cases fatal, results.
It's a common misconception that once a cavity has developed, it will just disappear on its own. Even if the cavity is caught very early on, it still requires dedicated brushing, flossing, and exposure to fluoride for reversal.
If you see pus near a tooth or teeth, your cavity has gone too far. It's become an abscess that needs to be handled right away. Abscesses are very painful and cause fevers and swollen glands. Pus will routinely collect and drain from the abscess, causing great pain.
The pain of an untreated cavity is much, much more severe than anything you'll feel getting a filling.” After the anesthetic wears off, you may feel some minor soreness, but that should fade quickly.
In general, adults develop an average of three cavities during their lifetimes. This means that the average adult has three or four fillings in their mouth. Some patients end up with ten or more fillings depending on how well they care for their teeth.
What kind of cavity doesn't need to be filled? If you have a very small cavity limited to the enamel (or outer layer) of your tooth, you may not need to get a filling. This is especially true if you have had very few cavities in the past and practice good oral hygiene.
No. Your dentist will numb the area and use a numbing gel before injecting a local anesthetic known as Lidocaine. You may feel a bit of a sting, but that's a reaction from the local anesthetic when it starts to block the nerve signals to stop the pain.