As dentists, we are supposed to help you care for you mouth as well as your teeth. Have you ever stopped to think of the things we need our mouths for? It is a vital part of our bodies, yet we take our mouths for granted.
When we meet someone for the first time, that first impression can never be changed. A warm healthy smile says a great deal.
Speech can be affected by the lack of teeth or poor fitting false teeth.
Digestion is something most people would assume takes place in the stomach.
In fact, when you place food in your mouth, chewing and the enzymes in your saliva starts the digestive process.
Today, we also are learning through research that the health of our mouths and the bacteria that live there, can affect our overall health.
Problems from premature births to heart disease are being linked to gum disease.
So, let's not take your mouth for granted. Give it the care and attention it needs.
Your Tooth Enamel The shiny, hard white tissue covering the tooth is the strongest tissue in your body. It has to be! Your jaws place as much as 128 pounds of pressure on your teeth when you chew, bite, clench, or grind.
This tissue makes up most of the body of the tooth. Even though dentin is hard and feels solid to the touch, it's actually microscopically porous and needs a covering of enamel or an artificial crown to protect it from decay-causing bacteria in your saliva.
This soft tissue contains blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue. The pulp provides nourishment for the tooth during growth and development. Once the tooth is mature, the pulp's only function is sensory. A fully developed tooth can survive without the pulp. If this tissue is damaged, your tooth can be saved with root canal therapy.
The roots of your teeth are anchored by bone. Healthy teeth stimulate and keep bone tissue healthy and vice versa.
This part of the tooth sits in the bone below the gum. Believe it or not, the root of your tooth is usually twice as long as the crown, the part you see above the gumline.
Dentists call this "gingiva". It covers the bone surrounding your teeth. When you brush your teeth after meals and floss daily, you keep this tissue healthy. That's important, because gum disease can cause bone lose. Gum disease can also expose the tooth roots to decay. If root decay affects the pulp, you may need root canal treatment.
Here you can see a close up of the tooth cut away seen above. The red is the gingiva or "gums". The white is enamel and orange is the dentine. The dentine is microscopically porous because it is made up of microscopic tubes or "tubules", inside of which are nerve fibres. If the enamel is removed and the tubules exposed, sensitivity results.