Can you fix your cavities at home?

Have you seen videos or read articles where people claim that they have been able to "fix their cavities" at home with some sort of DIY fix?

Well....this is highly unlikely.....

A "cavity" is a hole in the outer layer of the tooth; the enamel. Quite often, even without a visible hole in the tooth, when we open it up, we find extensive tooth decay, which is areas of dead tooth.

You can see the dark areas in the enamel and dentin.

Clinically there was a dark shadow which looked suspicious of tooth decay

Hiding inside was a huge area of dead tooth. This needs careful removal and replacement with a filling or partial crown.

The outer layer of the tooth, the enamel, is made by cells (ameloblasts) which are only present during tooth development. If a hole develops in the enamel, it can therefore never be repaired by the body, no mater how much coconut oil you swish.

The middle layer of the tooth, the dentin, is formed by cells (odontoblasts) that are still alive inside the dental pulp. These cells can be activated to create new dentin by various stimuli, including the chemicals in some of these home remedies. But.....this does not seal the the hole in the enamel, leaving a highway for bacteria to enter the tooth.

So yes....the tooth can repair itself somewhat, but it will never be able to seal a "cavity" on its own.

For more information check out my latest video!

Please like and share if you learned something today!

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Dave

#DIYDentistry #Cavities #Fillings