There's hardly a person who hasn't had a caries at least once in their life. Some take it very lightly with the development being slowly progressive, finally leading to the destruction of a tooth. Regular checks are therefore very important in order for the expert eye of your dentist to detect the formation of caries in time and at an early stage which, in the initial phase, is invisible to the naked eye.
Dental caries is a very widespread disease of hard dental tissues and is the most common disease of people in general. A black spot, cavity or defect in the crown of the tooth is just the last stage observed in a complex and slow process that results from the interaction of numerous factors. The formation of caries requires the action of several factors that will ultimately lead to the damage of hard dental tissues, i.e. "a rotten tooth".
Patients usually come to the dentist for dental repair at a stage when caries is already considerably advanced and in many cases the dental pulp can be opened when it is removed. Dental pulp is a network of nerves and blood vessels located in the centre of a tooth, which results in a loss of tooth vitality. The inside of the tooth is made of dentin, which is softer than enamel and contains a lot of channels, and the acids produced by bacteria can break it down more easily than the enamel. A tooth may look healthy at first glance, but there is actually already considerable tissue destruction.
The caries process causes pain only when it penetrates into the dentine – caries limited to the enamel does not hurt. Pulp cells react to caries in dentin by depositing fresh amounts of dentin, and by increasing the deposit of minerals in channels, which narrows and closes them. This reaction is a defence mechanism which naturally defends the tooth against the progression of caries.
In certain (rare) cases it may be sufficient to stop the progression of caries – if the bacteria are less active in the production of acids, and the defensive response of the teeth is very pronounced, it is possible for the caries to stop and cease spreading. In theory, if the caries is stopped then it doesn't require treatment. However, in most cases, the tooth’s defence has become weakened, so it is necessary to repair such teeth, i.e. remove the caries mass and fill the tooth with restorative materials.
