We can't generalize what this little black dot is. Generally speaking, these small black spots can be roughly attributed to two reasons: tooth stains and dental caries.
(Image from the Internet)
First, tooth stains
The major is called pigmentation. As the name implies, it is caused by pigmentation on the tooth surface. Pigmentation probably has the following reasons:
1. Brushing is not in place. Some people will say impossible. I brush my teeth every day, two or three times a day! However, brushing depends not only on the frequency and time, but also on the efficiency of brushing. Some people attach great importance to the choice of toothpaste, some people think that the efficiency of electric toothbrush is high, and some people think that brushing for a long time is good. Recommended by professional dentists: The correct brushing method is more important than the appropriate toothbrush, and the appropriate toothbrush is more important than toothpaste. Sometimes, dentists may brush their teeth with ordinary toothpaste and toothbrush more efficiently than electric toothbrushes.
Brushing time is only a necessary condition. In the first 1 minute of brushing, dental plaque has been removed by almost 70%. Therefore, mastering the correct brushing method and ensuring brushing time is the key to improve brushing efficiency. More importantly, brushing teeth can not only brush the outside of teeth, but also brush the inside of teeth and occlusal surface. This explains why there are many black spots and black spots on the inner side of teeth, because the inner side is often the blind spot for brushing teeth.
2. Eat food rich in pigments. The tooth surface is not absolutely smooth, and there are food, pigments and so on. Have something to do with it to some extent. It is difficult to avoid colored food in the actual eating process, but it is difficult for most people to brush their teeth in time after eating. In the long run, all kinds of pigments are easy to accumulate and deposit on the rough tooth surface, including the occlusal surface of posterior teeth and the abutment of teeth.
3. The structure of the tooth itself. As mentioned above, the unsmooth or adjacent tooth surface is not conducive to the self-cleaning of teeth, which will lead to the easy deposition of pigments and the appearance of black spots. The most typical example is the occlusal surface of the posterior teeth. Because of the deep pits and cracks left by the fusion of developing leaves, food residues and pigments are easy to enter and difficult to remove, which leads to the appearance of pigments for a long time.
(Image from the Internet)
Second, dental caries
The most well-known manifestation of dental caries is that there are holes in the teeth. Next, let's expose the true face of dental caries and let them have nowhere to hide.
In fact, the earliest clinical manifestation of dental caries is tooth discoloration. The typical change process is enamel demineralization, and the tooth surface shows chalk color change. This stage is hard to find. If the lesion continues to develop, it will progress to dentin caries, and the tooth defect is obvious-that is, the tooth has holes. At this stage, bacteria are active, and the metabolites of bacteria contain a lot of pigments. In addition, the tooth surface is rough and there are tooth defects, food residues and pigments are easy to accumulate, and black spots or plaques appear on the tooth surface.
There is also a manifestation of dental caries that is recessive. On the surface, there are no holes in the teeth, but black shadows can be seen on the surface of the teeth. This kind of dental caries looks small on the surface, but in fact it is very big inside. Medically, it is called "flask-like caries", which is named after a flask with a small mouth and a big bottom. It can be seen from the shape of the flask that this kind of lesion can not be underestimated, and it is the best policy to treat it as soon as possible, otherwise it will become a deep caries that harms the tooth nerve.
(Image from the Internet)
Having said that, what are the black spots and plaques on your or your child's teeth? If it is difficult for you to judge, it is recommended to seek the help of a professional doctor as soon as possible to nip the problem in the bud and keep a beautiful and healthy tooth.
Editor: Yao Di
(Author: Zhang Meijuan, oral clinician, original works, please indicate that knowledge is power)
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