There's a couple of bad bacteria in town .... and they're causing trouble.......
Streptococcus mutans and Lactobaccilli are destructive cavity-causing bacteria . Teeth are basically mineralized objects that will either dissolve or recrystallize depending on what they are exposed to: acids, enzymes in saliva, and minerals.
After eating a meal with any almost any simple carbohydrate, S. mutans produces acids for up to three hours. Most people eat about five to seven times a day (including snacks and sweetened drinks); therefore, most people unfortunately allow their teeth to soak in a pool of acid for about 15 to 21 hours per day. The resulting acidic environment chips away at mineralized tooth enamel and makes teeth vulnerable to cavities and tooth decay.
Since decay begins as a series of chemical reactions going in one direction in an acidic oral environment, you must reverse the direction and favor remineralizaton and repair of decayed teeth by maintaining a neutral (or alkaline) oral environment. This is known as the caries balance:
Brush at least twice a day to remove biofilm (plaque bacteria) and food. If you can only brush/floss once a day, do it at night -> always go to bed with a clean mouth. Salivary flow which dilutes acids is reduced at night so you will not have the buffering effect and teeth are more vulnerable to decay. If you cannot brush after meals, rinse your mouth with water or chew sugarless gum to stimulate saliva (xylotol in sugarless gum also inhibits S. mutans).
To see how the bacteria in our mouths has changed from ancient times, read this interesting article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130217134140.htm
2 comments:
Hi Loni,
For an OCD person like myself, you blog is an absolute NIGHTMARE!
I think it is bad enough that I have the images in my head, now you have posted pictures of bacteria and my obsessive nature is on over-drive.
I have always had several tooth brushing kits;at home, at work in my locker, at work on my desk, at work in my knife kit, in my purse, in my car.
Now I am thinking I must add a jug of bleach to that kit. Kidding.
ha ha, glad I contributed to the OCD - something tells me that your character is to blame more than my pictures of spirochetes and spirilla. You have a toothbrush in your knife kit? That's dedication! ya, maybe some bleach or at least a Lysol wetwipe might be in order....:) kidding too.....
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