X-rays revealed i have enamel decay between all my upper teeth, how long will remineralisation treatment take?
Q.
Hello
I’ve always really looked after my teeth, eating no sweet things, and brushing after everything I ate for my whole life. But I was a bit slack on flossing because the floss always broke and it was annoying! And I was drinking loads of pure orange.
I was horrified to find out on changing dentists that xrays revealed slight enamel decay between just about ALL my teeth in my upper jaw, probably from the pure orange and lack of flossing. Thankfully I have the chance to remineralise these areas and hopefully all will be ok.
Hello
I’ve always really looked after my teeth, eating no sweet things, and brushing after everything I ate for my whole life. But I was a bit slack on flossing because the floss always broke and it was annoying! And I was drinking loads of pure orange.
I was horrified to find out on changing dentists that xrays revealed slight enamel decay between just about ALL my teeth in my upper jaw, probably from the pure orange and lack of flossing. Thankfully I have the chance to remineralise these areas and hopefully all will be ok.
But how long does remineralisation and arresting caries take?
In my case I’m brushing 4 times a day, alternating a kind/gentle enamel care toothpaste with a fluoride one, as well as flossing with Duraphat 5000 on the floss twice a day.
I’ve been doing this for two months now.
Will the decay have arrested by now?
Will this decay have totally disappeared off the xray next time, so I know I’ve eliminated the decay?
I’ve moved now so I’m not going back to the dentist that spotted this.
Will it be obvious to a new dentist that the decay has healed, or will the arrested decay just be sitting there on the xray, with it not showing whether it’s live or arrested?
Thanks!
A.
Hi
The answer is that we will probably not see rapid improvement for at least a yr.
If the situation does not improve with what you are doing in ayr on a repeat x ray but the lesions are still in enamel then continue to monitor as long as you do not have symptoms.
If the lesions spread to dentine the inner layer of tooth you will need restorations.
Explain to your new dentist what the old one saw and ask for a copy of your x rays so they can monitor change
Remember you can reverse demineralisation but not decay this has to be removed
Hi
The answer is that we will probably not see rapid improvement for at least a yr.
If the situation does not improve with what you are doing in ayr on a repeat x ray but the lesions are still in enamel then continue to monitor as long as you do not have symptoms.
If the lesions spread to dentine the inner layer of tooth you will need restorations.
Explain to your new dentist what the old one saw and ask for a copy of your x rays so they can monitor change
Remember you can reverse demineralisation but not decay this has to be removed
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