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How Does A Dentist Discover These Hole In The Teeth ?
Hello Doctor , My family was recently treated by a dentist declaring that we had holes in our teeth. I did not believe him but my mom convinced us to make a second appointment to get our teeth filled. My family have beautiful almost perfect teeth to the eyes. My question is, how does a dentist discover these hole in the teeth?
Fri, 2 Aug 2013
User's Response
Dr. Nitul Jain,
Dentist's Response
Dentist's Response
these holes, what your treating dentist has diagnosed, are in fact, cavities caused by microbial decay of teeth surface. these are generally painless unless the hole involves the innermost pulp of the teeth (teeth consists of Inner most pulp containing Nerves, covered by Dentine and which in turn is covered by outermost ENAMEL).
These holes can be cuased either by having excessive sweet food or by Abrasion of teeth due to faulty tooth brushing and some sort of gastric troubles or in some patients by having excessive acidic beverages.
These are diagnosed easily by dentist with the help of a sharp needle like instrument known as PROBE or EXPLORER by running them on tooth surface and looking for any defect/ discontinuity. in case of suspicion, we generally use Xray of that particular teeth. There are still more advanced diagnostic modalities now a days, but tehse are limited to Foriegn countries only.
These holes can be cuased either by having excessive sweet food or by Abrasion of teeth due to faulty tooth brushing and some sort of gastric troubles or in some patients by having excessive acidic beverages.
These are diagnosed easily by dentist with the help of a sharp needle like instrument known as PROBE or EXPLORER by running them on tooth surface and looking for any defect/ discontinuity. in case of suspicion, we generally use Xray of that particular teeth. There are still more advanced diagnostic modalities now a days, but tehse are limited to Foriegn countries only.
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Hello
Welcome to HCM
I would like to answer your query that these are holes are actually the cavities that are caused by tooth decay by microbes.Its very important to get them treated at initial stage otherwise they later on progress till pulp & then can be treated by RCT only.
Various factors that lead to these cavities are:-
-frequent intake of sticky sugar
-improper brushing habit
It can be detected by dentist by visual & tactile sensation like use of mouth-mirror & probe.Its our job to protect teeth from any disease.Similarly its your duty to maintain proper oral hygiene by regular brushing.Get your dental check-up done every 6 months.
Take Care
Regards
Dr.Neha
Welcome to HCM
I would like to answer your query that these are holes are actually the cavities that are caused by tooth decay by microbes.Its very important to get them treated at initial stage otherwise they later on progress till pulp & then can be treated by RCT only.
Various factors that lead to these cavities are:-
-frequent intake of sticky sugar
-improper brushing habit
It can be detected by dentist by visual & tactile sensation like use of mouth-mirror & probe.Its our job to protect teeth from any disease.Similarly its your duty to maintain proper oral hygiene by regular brushing.Get your dental check-up done every 6 months.
Take Care
Regards
Dr.Neha
I find this answer helpful
Hello and thank you for your questions.
Cavities are found through tectile senses using an explorer with a tip smaller than the period on this sentence. We also use visualization and xrays to see cavities. If the explorer finds a sticky spot in the tooth, a place where it gets stuck with light pressure it usually indicates that a cavity is present.
Thank you and best wishes.
Dr. Ward
Cavities are found through tectile senses using an explorer with a tip smaller than the period on this sentence. We also use visualization and xrays to see cavities. If the explorer finds a sticky spot in the tooth, a place where it gets stuck with light pressure it usually indicates that a cavity is present.
Thank you and best wishes.
Dr. Ward
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holes or dental decay are discovered as catch points by a sharp instrument called probe , that a dentist runs over the teeth. for confirmation you may get an x ray done on which dental decay or holes as you call them appear black spots on white tooth like structures
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Hello & welcome,
Dentist, while doing clinical examination, can find these so called holes which are nothing but cavities. Or there may be pits which are more prone to decay & generally they may be treated with filling as a preventive measure.
Many times patient has no pain & dentist discovers carious spots or cavities which exactly has happened with you.
Remember one thing, when caries starts, it starts with zero pain but it progresses 24*7 & when caries crosses dentino enamel junction slight sensitivity to cold water/air develops.
If it is not treated at this stage with filling, it moves further decaying dentinal part of the tooth & finally reaches pulp or that vital part of the tooth which starts paining due to it.
If tooth is decayed but no pain, treatment is simple & straight forward, that is filling. If tooth is decayed & there is pain, treatment is more extensive ( in terms of cost & time taken ), that is Root canal treatment.
So, it is very nice that your carious teeth are being diagnosed at early stage by your dentist. you can definitely go with filling or can have a second opinion regarding this to confirm before filling.
And yes, i would advise, if a tooth is being diagnosed as decayed with no pain, then patient should never wait for pain to come..!
Take care.
Dentist, while doing clinical examination, can find these so called holes which are nothing but cavities. Or there may be pits which are more prone to decay & generally they may be treated with filling as a preventive measure.
Many times patient has no pain & dentist discovers carious spots or cavities which exactly has happened with you.
Remember one thing, when caries starts, it starts with zero pain but it progresses 24*7 & when caries crosses dentino enamel junction slight sensitivity to cold water/air develops.
If it is not treated at this stage with filling, it moves further decaying dentinal part of the tooth & finally reaches pulp or that vital part of the tooth which starts paining due to it.
If tooth is decayed but no pain, treatment is simple & straight forward, that is filling. If tooth is decayed & there is pain, treatment is more extensive ( in terms of cost & time taken ), that is Root canal treatment.
So, it is very nice that your carious teeth are being diagnosed at early stage by your dentist. you can definitely go with filling or can have a second opinion regarding this to confirm before filling.
And yes, i would advise, if a tooth is being diagnosed as decayed with no pain, then patient should never wait for pain to come..!
Take care.
I find this answer helpful
Hi,
Thanks for asking the query,
Holes in the tooth are nothing but cavities caused by microbial decay, these cavities are usually painless unless there is pulp involvement.
These cavities are usually examined by the Dentist by visual examination with the help of instruments like probe or explorer, running this instrument over the tooth surface shows presence of any defect or discontinuity, in case of suspicion an radiograph can be taken.
Hope this helps out.
Regards..
Thanks for asking the query,
Holes in the tooth are nothing but cavities caused by microbial decay, these cavities are usually painless unless there is pulp involvement.
These cavities are usually examined by the Dentist by visual examination with the help of instruments like probe or explorer, running this instrument over the tooth surface shows presence of any defect or discontinuity, in case of suspicion an radiograph can be taken.
Hope this helps out.
Regards..
I find this answer helpful
1 Doctor agrees with this answer
Hello and Welcome to HCM,
Thanks for writing to us.
denist do clinical examination.
The tooth surface feels soft when probed by your dentist with a dental instrument. X-rays can also show cavities between teeth before they become visible to the eye.
In advanced stages of tooth decay, you might experience a toothache, especially after consuming sweet, hot, or cold foods or drinks. Other signs of tooth decay are visible pits or holes in the teeth.
Hope this helps you.
Wishing you good health...
Regards.
Thanks for writing to us.
denist do clinical examination.
The tooth surface feels soft when probed by your dentist with a dental instrument. X-rays can also show cavities between teeth before they become visible to the eye.
In advanced stages of tooth decay, you might experience a toothache, especially after consuming sweet, hot, or cold foods or drinks. Other signs of tooth decay are visible pits or holes in the teeth.
Hope this helps you.
Wishing you good health...
Regards.
I find this answer helpful
Hello there,
Thanks for the query.
Holes in the tooth indicates tooth decay.
Tooth decay clinically examined by a dentist with the help of probe/explorer.
On running a probe on the tooth surface,if there will be a soft or hard catch present it indicates tooth decay on that surface.
If tooth decay associated with pulp involvement ,one will feel pain in that tooth.
In some cases x-rays will also play an important role to find cavities like proximal caries present between two teeth.
Hope this information will be helpful.
Take care.
Dr.Gunjan Gupta
Thanks for the query.
Holes in the tooth indicates tooth decay.
Tooth decay clinically examined by a dentist with the help of probe/explorer.
On running a probe on the tooth surface,if there will be a soft or hard catch present it indicates tooth decay on that surface.
If tooth decay associated with pulp involvement ,one will feel pain in that tooth.
In some cases x-rays will also play an important role to find cavities like proximal caries present between two teeth.
Hope this information will be helpful.
Take care.
Dr.Gunjan Gupta
I find this answer helpful
Hello there ,
Thanks for writing your query,
Cavities in the teeth can be evaluated by a dentist by various methods .
visual examination , tactile examination by instruments like explorer helps in catching a point cavitaion.
Running a probe on the tooth surface,if there will be a soft or hard catch present it indicates tooth decay on that surface.
if the tooth decay involves dentin and or more deeper it involves pulp , X Ray examination is the best way to detect the spread of the decay.
i hope this helps ,
take care.
I find this answer helpful
hello
actually we as a layman can see only those holes in our teeth that occur on the occlusal surface of the teeth
but a dentist can locate hole between two teeth which is not visible by naked eye by running a probe and getting a catch point
also he/she has aid of radiograph which easily shows carious lesion between two teeth
so dont worry , your dentist is qualified enough and if he says that you need a filling than get it done because that will prevent you from future discomfort
hope that helps
actually we as a layman can see only those holes in our teeth that occur on the occlusal surface of the teeth
but a dentist can locate hole between two teeth which is not visible by naked eye by running a probe and getting a catch point
also he/she has aid of radiograph which easily shows carious lesion between two teeth
so dont worry , your dentist is qualified enough and if he says that you need a filling than get it done because that will prevent you from future discomfort
hope that helps
I find this answer helpful
1 Doctor agrees with this answer
Hi,
An obvious cavity is visible to any person. But cavities in between teeth can be detected by clinical examination and by X rays. Initial stages of dental caries can be detected by a dentist with the help of a probe. So if your teeth is decayed as told by your dentist please get it restored at the earliest.
An obvious cavity is visible to any person. But cavities in between teeth can be detected by clinical examination and by X rays. Initial stages of dental caries can be detected by a dentist with the help of a probe. So if your teeth is decayed as told by your dentist please get it restored at the earliest.
I find this answer helpful
hello,
caries or decay inbetween the teeth wont be visible outside, it can be only sorted out symptomatically otherwise through x-ray. small pits and fissures can be identified by the dentist through using dental probes . take care
caries or decay inbetween the teeth wont be visible outside, it can be only sorted out symptomatically otherwise through x-ray. small pits and fissures can be identified by the dentist through using dental probes . take care
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Hi, if there are no visible caries, did the dentist take X rays to find out caries? Did u ever notice any brown stains, lines or small brown or black pits on the teeth? Sometimes there are no visible caries but the dentist finds them out by checking some soft areas that may lead to extensive caries if left untreated. You should have taken a second opinion before getting the treatment done to be on a safer side. Take care!
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