Question

Sweet teeth may lead to decay. Explain why? What is the role of toothpaste in preventing cavities?

Answer 1

Hint: Acids can react with minerals and can thus the mineral can be displaced from its origin. Toothpaste contains fluoride in its composition.

Complete step by step solution:
Let’s first see why sweet teeth may lead to decay.
- It is known to you that sweets, chocolates all contain high amounts of sugar.
- When this sugar remains stuck to the surface of the tooth for a longer duration, it gets converted into certain acids by chemical reactions in presence of enzymes. The time during our sleep is enough to generate acids from sugar in teeth.
- These acids are responsible for demineralisation which means removal of minerals and decalcification which stands for removal of calcium from tooth structure. We can call this phenomenon a formation of cavity or tooth decay.
Thus, we can conclude that a tooth that has sweet residue on it, can decay.
Now, we will see the role of toothpastes in preventing those cavities.
- Cavities in our teeth are formed by the combination of the bacteria and acid produced by the food debris. Saliva provides enzymes to make this process facile.
- Toothpastes are mainly made up of fluorides with some other additives. Fluorides which are found in toothpaste are found to form a layer over the tooth surface which does not allow the acid or bacteria to come in direct contact with the tooth surface and hence it prevents them from cavities. So, the function of toothpaste is to remove the remaining food particles from teeth and form a layer that avoids cavities

Note: To prevent the teeth from cavities; we should brush our teeth at least twice a day with fluoride-containing toothpaste. Also, we should not forget to get teeth cleaning done by a dental hygienist or dentist at least once in 6 months.