Expert: Tony Appleton BDS DPDS - 2/6/2009

Question
I go to my dentist every 6 months for a checkup. The Last time I went I got an x-ray and he said I had 4 cavities. One of them (on my 13th tooth) he said had a big cavity and he said it might need a root canal. However, I had that tooth filled today but I'm still scared that I will need a root canal because I had one under his supervision already. I have three questions. If I go every 6 months for a checkup and brush 2 times a day and floss once, how come he did not see the cavity on my 13th tooth before it got so big. Also is it likely that I will need a root canal if it is a big cavity. Finally, after my 13th tooth got filled today, I noticed a sharp edge with my tongue when I run my tongue on the top of my tooth and to the side. Does that mean it wasn't properly filled.

Answer
Hi John

Cavities can develop pretty quickly, and unfortunately they often can appear minor on the surface but are actually quite large underneath and this is often only visible on an x-ray.

Cavities are caused purely by sugar in your diet. So, although you have a good oral hygiene regime it sounds as though you have too much sugar.  The difficulty is that this sugar intake is not always obvious, as many foodstuffs that don't seen to be sugary contain a high proportion of sugar.  A good example of this is ketchup.

Of course you can spot the obvious foodstuffs - sweets, biscuits, cakes, but drinks can also contain sugar - coke is horrendous as are most fizzy drinks - fruit juice is very high in sugar.

As for this tooth - you may or may not need root canal - he has warned you of the possibility and you will just have to see what happens and get the tooth regularly checked.  As for the sharp edge - you may have to go back and get it smoothed off.

Regards

Tony Appleton