Dental Myth Busters

Myth #1 : If you have a dental problem you will know it

Most dental cavities don’t hurt until they are really deep inside the tooth and by that stage they usually have already caused irreversible damage to the nerve (pulp).

Studies report that about 50% of people with an abscessed (infected) tooth, report no history of any previous pain in the affected tooth.

Periodontal disease, which affects about 50% of adult Australians and causes jaw bone destruction (along with a long list of other health problems), rarely causes pain.

Dental disease is a gradual process, which often progresses without any particular symptoms and is usually painless until it is in a very advanced stage. Even at this stage there may or may not be symptoms, however the damage may be severe by this stage and the tooth may have been irretrievably damaged.

As our patients will know, we do multiple tests on each tooth where decay and dental disease is suspected to exist. We want to be sure about the status of each tooth. Modern dentistry has provided us with a large range of aids to enable early detection of dental disease. We may use any or all of the following: high magnification loupes (glasses with mini microscopes), trans- illlumination light, digital radiographs, intra-oral photographic images taken with a SLR camera, decay spotting dyes and many more.

So don’t rely on a sensation or the lack there of, to diagnose what is going on in your mouth. Get things checked out with our thorough dental examination, for your peace of mind and dental health.