why is it that you can break a piece of a tooth and it doesn’t need fixing, but if you have the tiniest cavity it has to get filled ASAP?
In: Biology
This won’t be 5 yo level, but it is an important aspect that I haven’t seen anyone explain (or I missed it)
Cavities usually form in places where there is no or not enough self-cleaning (by the tongue or saliva) or mechanical cleaning (by toothbrush, floss). For example the back teeth’s grooves (not sure of exact english terminology), or between two teeth, and so the bacteria can be there for a long time without you cleaning it off, and slowly eat away the enamel, then the dentine until it reaches the pulp (the inside of a tooth that contains nerves and etc.), and you will likely need a root canal treatment (killing the tooth essentially). Fillings in due time can stop this process, still in the enamel if caught early, so the bacteria do not reach the pulp, and the decay is stopped.
Chipping and other trauma damage is usually at the fronts and on surfaces that are self-cleaning and/or are easy to clean mechanically. For example the incisal part of your first teeth. In these places the bacteria do not have enough time to eat through your tooth because you are cleaning them off twice a day (hopefully). Now, this varies based on the amount of damage, if the chip is deep and reaches the dentine, the bacteria have a highway to reach the pulp, and you can’t clean it effectively, so if it is not filled and treated soon, it will be the same as a cavity.
If it is just a millimiter off the top, that is still in the enamel, which is good at stopping bacteria, so that tooth may never have problems.
Although in case of trauma it is always a good idea to go for a checkup, because there could be damage to other parts around your teeth that could lead to the need to extract that or other teeth.
Hope this helped, let me know if I can help explain any more.
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