I have small and medium size holes on the top of my teeth near my gums and I just want to know what treatment can I use or do I have to replace my teeth with the holes altogether? PS. I was a heavy ‘Soda Pop’ drinker, have stopped and only drink juice, milk, and water now.
- Shonda from Minnesota
Shonda,
Sipping soda all day long is a great way to grow cavities.
Sipping juice and milk can also be a problem. Water and diet soda won’t cause that problem.
The issue is the sugar that is in constant contact with your teeth. Juice and milk also contain sugars. And the sipping is vastly more harmful than just drinking it. If you just sit down and drink twelve ounces of soda or juice in a minute or two, it has very little effect on your teeth. But any kind of food with sugar or carbohydrate that is in your mouth constantly is murder on your teeth and can cause rampant tooth decay. The soda, juice, and milk pool at the gumline, and tend to attack all the teeth at the gumline, but especially the insides of the lower back teeth. The same thing happens with crackers, raisins, potato chips, and many other foods. And the attack is so severe, there is no way to brush your teeth enough to fight it. You would literally have to brush your teeth immediately every time you take a single sip.
If the holes are small, just fillings will take care of them. They have to be large and deep before you would need crowns on the teeth. And when people can’t seem to control their sipping or snacking urges, we like to place fillings that release fluoride to try to combat in some way the constant acid attack going on in your mouth. But composite fillings are more durable.
You also might want to get a prescription from your dentist for some home fluoride treatments or fluoride rinses, which will strengthen your teeth against this acid attack a little bit. The only good prevention is not to snack or sip, but fluoride helps a little.
Links to pages you may want to read:
Read our page on dental disease prevention techniques.
Dental sealants can be used to prevent pit and fissure cavities.