Latest / SmileMoreDentistry with Mariliza LaCap, DDS / Are Cavities A Kissing Disease? The Truth About What Causes Them

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Are Cavities A Kissing Disease? The Truth About What Causes Them · SmileMoreDentistry with Mariliza LaCap, DDS

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Are cavities actually a kissing disease?
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: I know that sounds ridiculous, but I've been a dentist for 35 years and treated more than 15,000 patients.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I once watched a kid go from basically perfect teeth to six cavities in about a year.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: The question my pediatric husband asked this mother was, does he have a girlfriend?
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: The mom almost lost her mind.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: But that question was not as crazy as it sounded because there is something happening between bacteria, saliva, sugar, and your teeth that most people never understand.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: And once you see how it works, you'll understand why.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Two people can eat almost the same way and have completely different cavity histories.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll see why the person you're kissing can actually matter more than you think.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: First, let me show you what is actually happening when a cavity starts.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Your mouth is full of bacteria.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: That is completely normal.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: But certain bacteria love the carbohydrates you eat, especially sugars and starches, and when they feed on them, they produce acid.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: That acid is what starts pulling minerals out of your enamel and weakening the tooth.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: So sugar matters because it is feeding the bacteria, but the thing actually damaging the tooth is the acid.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: And your mouth is dealing with that process all day long.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: You eat something, the bacteria gets fuel.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: The environment around the teeth becomes more acidic, and then your saliva starts helping neutralize that acid and put minerals back into the enamel.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: The trouble starts when the acid attacks are happening too often, or your mouth is not recovering well enough between them.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where somebody can get cavities, even though they do not think they eat much sugar.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's a sweet coffee sitting on the desk for three hours, a sip here, another sip there, 20 minutes later, then a few crackers, then a sports drink, then another snack.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: That person may honestly tell me, I barely eat sweets, but their teeth may be spending a huge part of the day dealing with repeated acid attacks.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody else can eat dessert once with dinner and give their mouth hours to recover, while another person keeps feeding that acid cycle all afternoon with coffee, crackers, or a little snack.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: And bacteria do not care whether you personally call something a dessert.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Crackers, chips, bread, pretzels, sugary drinks, sweetened coffee, all of those can give them something to work with.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: So when somebody keeps getting cavities, I want to know how they eat and drink over the course of the day, not just whether they had candy last weekend.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Are you sipping something for hours?
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Are you grazing from breakfast until bedtime?
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Are you drinking juice because you think it is healthier than soda?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Are you eating little snacks every couple of hours?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Those habits can create a very different environment in the mouth.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now, let's get back to that college kid.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: He comes home with six cavities.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: His parents are horrified.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: And my husband asks, does he have a girlfriend?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: His mother nearly lost her mind.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, what does that have to do with his cavities?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Well, more than you think.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: The bacteria involved in tooth decay can be passed through saliva.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, in a sense, cavities can behave a little bit like a kissing disease.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now please do not go home and accuse your spouse of giving you cavities.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: You can pick up different cavity-causing bacteria through saliva.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: But whether that turns into decay still depends on everything else happening in your mouth.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you keep getting cavities and every appointment feels like here's another hole, let's fill it, that is exactly the cycle we try to break in our offices.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Filling the hole is the easy part.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: What I care about and what we care about is why you made the hole in the first place.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: We look at the pattern where the cavities are showing up and what keeps feeding that acid cycle.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you're near one of our offices and you want our team to look at what may be causing your cavity risk, you can contact us through the link in the description.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, saliva is much more important than most people realize.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: It helps wash the mouth, neutralize acid, and deliver minerals back to the enamel.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: So if your mouth becomes dry, the balance can shift pretty quickly.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: I have seen people go years without many cavities and then suddenly start getting them.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they started a medication that dries the mouth out.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they're breathing through their mouth at night.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they're not producing as much saliva as they used to.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever the reason, if somebody suddenly starts getting cavities after years of having almost none, I want to know what changed.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you lose some of that saliva protection, those acid attacks can hang around longer and the enamel has a harder time recovering.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Then there's fluoride.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Fluoride helps strengthen the enamel and makes it more resistant to those acid attacks, which is why I recommend fluoride toothpaste.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, brushing and cleaning between the teeth absolutely matter too, because if plaque and food are sitting around a tooth, bacteria have a very nice place to live and eat.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is where crowded teeth can become a problem.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: If two teeth overlap and food packs into that area every time you eat, you can be a very good brusher and still struggle to clean that space.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: That may mean flossing, it may mean a water flosser, it may mean fixing an area where food constantly gets trapped.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is why I get frustrated when we simply fill a cavity and never talk about why it happened.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: We can fix the hole.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Dentists are very good at fixing holes, but if you go home to the exact same environment that created it, you may have to come back with another cavity and another one.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, fillings get bigger, teeth get weaker.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And now we're talking about crowns, root canals, and a lot more dentistry than I ever wanted you to need.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: One of my biggest beliefs after 35 years is that the best dentistry is the least amount of dentistry.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, sugar matters, but sugar is the fuel.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: The actual damage comes from repeated acid attacks.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: And whether those attacks turn into cavities depends on how often they happen and how well your mouth can recover between them.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: This is why I never want to stop at you have a cavity.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: I want to know why you made it.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because if we can change that, maybe I do not have to fill another one next year.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want more videos like this, please subscribe.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are brushing twice a day and still wondering whether that means your mouth is actually healthy, watch this video next.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: It is appearing on your screen now.