Don’t delay a visit to the dentist’s if you suspect you have a cavity

There are women who dramatically claim they’d rather birth a child than go to the dentist, even though the dentist has your best interest at heart, of course. Are you experiencing an unpleasant feeling in one of your teeth and do you suspect it might be a cavity? Then you don’t want to delay a visit to your dentist because an untreated cavity can cause a lot of misery.

These are the things that can happen when you ignore a cavity.

Your tooth can split

A healthy tooth is very unlikely to break. However, teeth with (relatively big) cavities are a different story. “If you have a lot of decay or a tooth with big, old fillings in it, those teeth are more susceptible to cracking,” Dr Carl McManama, professor of dentistry at Boston University, explains to Reader’s Digest. Simple things that seem innocent, like chewing your food, can already cause a decaying tooth to split.

It can cause nerve damage

“In the middle of every tooth is this skinny little hollow tube where the nerves and blood vessels are. When the decay reaches into the pulp of the tooth, that’s when the patient can have excruciating pain,” Dr McManama explains. In other words: as the cavity gets deeper, the pain gets worse. Eventually, nearly everyone gives in and makes an appointment with the dentist, but in some cases, it might already be too late. If that’s the case, you need a root canal treatment. In some cases, the tooth is already too far gone and can’t be saved anymore, which means it needs to be removed. To prevent this from happening, you should already contact your dentist when you’re experiencing only minor discomfort.

Go to the next page to read about the other two things that can happen when you ignore a cavity.

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