Ever wonder why the dentist says "you have a cavity but we aren't going to fill it just yet?" There are several reasons why the dentist may say this, but it is rooted in your personal risk factors. Risk factors for cavities include but are not limited to dietary carbohydrate consumption , oral hygiene routine, salivary flow and composition, bacterial load and so much more. When we look at an X-ray we look for where the cavity is and how deep it goes towards the center pulp of the tooth. What is very interesting is that if the cavity is limited only to the enamel layer, we can make it go away! YES WE CAN REMINERALIZE cavities when they are in this early stage. We use high fluoride or CCP-ACP toothpastes, Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) or micro etching and sealing (ICON) to heal these sites. If you think you may have a cavity in this this category, ask Dr.Fallon and she can talk to you about if this is an option for you!
Below is a schematic of depth of decay. The incipient lesion is the one that we can see on the X-ray, but doesn't extend to the dentin. These incipient lesions are the ones that we may be able to reverse. Unfortunately, once the decay gets to the second layer of tooth (dentin) we must restore the decay the traditional way, with a white filling.
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