Confidence in your health and appearance is essential to having a happy and full life. One of the simplest ways to reach this confidence is with your smile. Your smile is how you greet the day. It helps you interact with the world around you by showing how you feel throughout to others. Your smile is often the first feature people notice about you and the last feature they forget.
That being said, keeping up with your oral hygiene is also one of the easier ways to stay healthy. Your oral health is considered to be an inside look (literally) to your overall health. Since your mouth is an entry point to the digestive and respiratory system, it is important to keep your mouth safe from harmful bacteria that could infiltrate your body through your mouth.
One way to keep your oral health and overall health intact is to actively prevent tooth decay. Tooth decay, also known as a cavity, is damage caused to your enamel, or the tooth’s surface. This damage can be caused when a sticky film called plaque builds up on your teeth and produces harmful acid that harms the surface of the tooth.
Tooth decay is an extremely common issue, and when treated properly, it doesn’t lead to any further health concerns. It’s important to pay attention to your oral health to determine if you need to make an appointment with your dentist. Here are the signs you may have tooth decay.
You Have a Toothache
An ongoing pain or ache in one or more of your teeth is the most common sign that you may have tooth decay. Sometimes this ache can come naturally by itself, and other times it starts because of something you ate. Additionally, the pain and pressure may also be present when you chew food. The pain will originate in your tooth, but will soon bring discomfort in or around your whole mouth.
Sensitivity in Your Teeth
Sensitivity is another sign of tooth decay. Most commonly, your teeth will experience sensitivity to temperature. This may leave you with a sharp pain when you eat something hot or drink something cold. You may also experience sensitivity or pain to food and drinks that are very sweet or high in sugar. This sensitivity will be present at the beginning of tooth decay.
Stains on Your Teeth
A more advanced sign of tooth decay is stains showing up on your tooth. The stain will start as a white spot on the surface of the tooth. As the tooth decay goes untreated and advances, the stain will become darker. If left untreated, the stain will turn black or brown.
A Hole or Pit in Your Tooth
Not only will the stain become darker if left untreated, but it will also leave a hole or pit in the affected tooth as time goes on. Most times, you will be able to feel the hole when you run your tongue over the tooth or see the hole in your tooth when you look in the mirror. Other times, the hole will develop in between your teeth or in the crevices of your tooth. Unfortunately, these can’t be seen or felt, but you will still feel pain so it’s best to get it checked out.
We Are Here to Help
The health of your teeth is important, and that’s 
why it’s important to have the best of the best looking after it. The professionals at Dental Group of Simi Valley provide the most modernized and revolutionized dental solutions for our patients.
We are a family-owned practice that has been treating the residents of Simi Valley, CA since 1963, and we take pride in creating and maintaining beautiful smiles one family at a time.
We offer comprehensive care for the whole family. From routine oral cleanings to emergency dental services to cosmetic surgery, the Dental Group of Simi Valley is here to help. If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms or need any other oral care, please schedule an appointment with us today. We can’t wait to have you as our patient and part of our extended family.
