Having pitted teeth can make you feel embarrassed and self-conscious. If your teeth have looked odd to you since you were a child or for as long as you can remember, it's probably due to a particular condition that afflicts children exclusively. Here's what you need to know about this condition, it's impact on you, and how you can get help for it.
Enamel
The part of your teeth that give them their pitted appearance is the dental enamel. This is the layer of the tooth that's the hardest and most protective. When the enamel isn't formed correctly, though, it can take on the appearance of pitting. Unfortunately, this condition is typically caused by something that's great for adults, and that also helps most children.
Fluoride
Believe it or not, dental fluoride is to blame for childhood pitting of teeth. While small amounts of fluoride are important for children, as it helps to harden teeth and keep them strong, too much of it isn't a good thing.
The reason that this only affects kids is because it has to happen while the teeth are still developing. If the body absorbs too much fluoride, tooth enamel can be made wrong, resulting in the pitted appearance. This is part of the reason why parents are told to be very careful about their children swallowing their toothpaste.
Fix
It's important that you know that fixing your teeth isn't just about cosmetic appearance or being vain. Pitted teeth can be more susceptible to damage and decay. The shape of the pitting allows them to capture more food waste, which feeds plaque and forms tartar. If that weren't enough, the abnormal enamel sometimes doesn't protect teeth as well as it should, so you may be more susceptible to developing cavities than someone who doesn't have pitted teeth.
The good news is, the fix is easy. For pitted teeth, veneers and crowns are typically recommended. Crowns are if the pitting is severe on all sides of your teeth, while veneers are when it's mostly restricted to the fronts of your teeth, as that's all they cover.
Both of these helps to protect teeth from developing cavities and also provide you with the smooth, normal tooth appearance that you're after.
Dental pitting isn't your fault, but it can be changed. Consult with a company like Four Corners Dental Group and find out which of these solutions is right for you and your teeth.
Share25 July 2019
When the bottled water craze began, I jumped on the bandwagon with everyone else who was drinking water from bottles instead of from the tap. I wasn't sure why bottled water was healthier, but I liked the taste. When I went for my next dental check-up, I had my first cavity in a while, so I had it filled and didn't think much of it. Well, I had two more during my next check-up after that, and I began trying to think of why my teeth were suddenly going bad. The only change in my habits was the switch to bottled water, so I made the switch back to tap water and my teeth began to improve. I created this blog to encourage others who have begun getting cavities suddenly to look into their changes in habits. They may find they made a change similar to mine.