What is Pitting in Dentistry?
Our teeth provide an essential function of digestion: chewing. In the exercise of this role, they face several attacks, such as sticky, acidic, sweet, or very hard foods. We are told over and over that we should limit our intake of these types of foods, but why? When we eat certain foods, particularly acidic foods such as fruit juices, soft drinks, and coffee, the acids in these will actually react with the minerals in our tooth enamel, the hard outermost layer of the tooth, and begin to wear down the enamel. Tooth enamel is composed of calcium mineral salts and has the function of covering and protecting the softer and more sensitive dentin underneath. When the dentin is exposed and undergoes contact with external agents, it becomes more prone to caries and other dental problems, such as hypersensitivity to thermal changes, acidic foods and sugary drinks.
As the enamel wears down, it creates small pits and fissures in the surface of the teeth, which will grow over time, especially if proper dental hygiene is not maintained. This breach becomes an entry point for bacteria to the internal parts of the tooth. If the bacteria cross the tooth and reach the pulp, that is to say the internal part of the teeth which contains the blood vessels and the nerves, an infection of the tooth can result.
The first symptoms of pitting and enamel erosion can be sensitive teeth, pain in the gums, and/or changes in the color and shape of the teeth. Dental erosion means the progressive and irreversible loss of dental enamel.
Dental erosion - also called acid erosion - is therefore a far from sudden phenomenon that can also affect children's teeth and consists of a slow loss of the hard tissues of the tooth. It is a process of demineralization of the enamel pH which causes a gradual loss of those minerals that make up the external surface of the teeth.
The consequence is that the teeth become less resistant to external substances and agents and therefore more subject to the attack of plaque, caries and also to a possible breakage or fall. We speak of acid erosion as this pathology is mainly linked to the type of diet. In fact, the acidic substances present in the foods and drinks of one's daily diet are the main causes of this erosion.
Every time you eat or drink something with a high acid content – for example carbonated drinks, alcohol, but also some types of fruit and vegetables – the dental enamel is exposed to these aggressive agents and a part of the dental enamel mineral is lost. Saliva takes care of restoring the minerals and partially neutralizing the acidity but, in the long run and in the absence of proper cleaning of the oral cavity, the mouth is no longer able to defend itself against attacks by acidic materials repeated over time.
It therefore happens that the external surface of the teeth slowly begins to deteriorate, risking exposing the dentin, if the right remedies are not intervened in a timely manner.
Reach out to learn about dental bonding, a potential treatment option for pitted teeth.