Shawn O'Berry DDS
The Problem
The Twenty-Thousand-Dollar Question
What should you do about a cavity?
Introduction
Deciding what to do with a cavity is not just a small decision made in the dental chair.
It is a decision that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Because once you have a cavity, your tooth has changed forever.
It will never be the same again.
You are no longer on the path you thought you were on.
There are several paths you can follow.
The problem is, you don’t know where they lead.
You see people walking on all the paths.
They each have good reasons to tell you why the path they recommend is a good one.
But the thing they don’t tell you is where the path leads.
They don’t talk about the destination.
They only talk about the journey.
That’s what makes this information different.
It talks about the destination.
If keeping your teeth is important to you, that should be your destination.
If saving money is important to you, that should be your destination.
If avoiding future problems is important to you, that should be your destination.
If you put your trust in the journey, your destination may be very different from what you wanted.
This information will help you see where that might be.
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Quick Reference About Cavities
What is a cavity?
A hole or void in a tooth caused by bacteria.
Bacteria in the mouth feed on sugars left over from food. They metabolize the sugar and excrete acid.
Acid dissolves tooth structure. As tooth structure is lost, it forms a cavity.
Why are cavities bad?
A cavity weakens a tooth in two different ways.
1. It dissolves away part of the tooth—and that structure is lost forever.
Think of this like having a hole in armor.
The protective layer is literally gone.
Things can easily pass from the outside of the tooth to the inside.
2. The structural strength of the whole tooth decreases.
Think of this like a support beam for a bridge.
If you take out part of the beam, the whole structure becomes compromised.
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Option #1: Do Nothing
If you do nothing different, the cavity will get bigger.
The tooth will continue to dissolve away.
And the structural integrity of the tooth becomes compromised.
This can lead to larger pieces of tooth breaking off.
This continues until bacteria reach the pulp, or nerve, of the tooth.
Now bacteria have direct access to the inside of your body.
Your body does its best to fight off the bacteria.
But occasionally this bacterial invasion can lead to serious infection or even death.
Of the person.
Not just the tooth.
Destination: Early death. Tooth loss. Or both.
Note about the journey: Cavities do not always hurt, even when they get big. Abscesses don’t always hurt either. But there is a high chance that somewhere along the way, there is going to be a lot of pain.
The author does not recommend this option. For anyone.
Cost: Much more than twenty thousand dollars.
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Option #2: Change Habits—with or Without Supplements
Changing habits may slow down how fast the cavity grows.
So this isn’t a bad place to start.
But how much does it help?
In theory, it might be possible to slow down the cavity so much that we could say it has stopped.
The extreme measures you would have to take would probably impact your quality of life.
But this path only stops more tooth material from dissolving.
It does not improve the integrity of the tooth.
Supplementation may help strengthen the remaining tooth material.
But it does not return the tooth to its original strength.
Think of a support beam for a bridge.
If a portion of the beam is taken away, it doesn’t matter how strong you make the beam.
It’s still too short.
The bridge remains compromised.
This problem can also be compensated for by changing habits.
If you don’t ever use your teeth for chewing and biting, they don’t need to be strong.
But again, this would probably impact your quality of life.
Destination: The same as doing nothing—just not as quickly.
Note about the journey: In theory, you may be able to keep your teeth. But the impact on your quality of life is so great that most people don’t want to make the trade.
Cost: Easily more than twenty thousand dollars.
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Option #3: Traditional Dentistry
Fillings and crowns.
This is what many people are used to.
But there are downsides.
They are more invasive than they need to be.
They don’t last long.
They last years, not decades.
And when they fail, they fail in a way that further damages the tooth.
It’s called the Tooth Cycle of Death.
Small fillings become bigger fillings.
Bigger fillings become crowns.
Crowns lead to root canals.
And the need for a new crown.
Over and over again until there is no more natural tooth.
The tooth comes out and a dental implant goes in.
Destination: Lose time, money, and tooth.
Note about the journey: Usually, the cheaper and faster the dentistry, the sooner it fails—and the Tooth Cycle of Death speeds up.
Cost: Add it up, and one tooth could easily end up costing $20,000 or more.
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Summary
There you have it: the three most common options people have.
All of them are expensive.
And if you live long enough, they all lead to tooth loss.
Almost every dental practice in America will mix and mingle these options into its philosophy on how to treat teeth.
But in the end, these are the only options they offer.
Being able to regrow tooth structure on an already damaged tooth would be the ultimate solution.
But there are still major hurdles to overcome before that can happen.
Scientists are working on regrowing teeth.
But again, this would mean losing a tooth first and then regrowing it.
That sounds better than an implant, but still not as good as keeping your original tooth.
Too bad there isn’t another solution to the problem.
…or is there?
Have you heard of biomimetic dentistry?