You clean your teeth two times in one day. You are a conscientious person when it comes to your oral hygiene. However, you were warned at your last visit to the dentist with those terrible words: You have a cavity. Again. Between your teeth. Again.
And in case this situation is not strange to you, you are not alone, and more to the point, you are not committing anything “wrong”. The frustrating truth is that brushing alone misses up to 40% of your tooth surfaces. The spaces between your teeth that your toothbrush bristles cannot reach are the best places for cavities to form. These interproximal cavities form unobtrusively and without pain or any observable symptoms until they are detected during a normal dental check-up.
The good news? You may take specific actions to prevent cavities between teeth even after you have realised why you are getting them, despite your best efforts to brush your teeth. Now, it’s time to actually look at what is happening in those small places and what kind of tools and tricks you should have to save your smile.
What Are “Cavities Between Teeth” (Interproximal Cavities)?
Interproximal cavities are areas of tooth decay that form specifically on the sides of teeth where they touch each other. With cavities not appearing on the chewing sides or the front of teeth, they form in the small spaces between the teeth, areas that are notoriously difficult to clean using a regular toothbrush.
These cavities are particularly tricky for several reasons:
- They’re invisible to the naked eye. In the mirror, you are unable to see between your teeth, and hence these cavities grow without any view. The decay has reached a large extent before you can realise that it is sensitive or painful.
- They often don’t hurt early on. Pits between teeth may develop for several months or even years without any pain, particularly when they have not reached the inner nerve of the tooth. This is the reason why dental checkups are very important.
- Detection requires special imaging. Your dentist at our clinic uses bitewing X-rays specifically designed to reveal these hidden problem areas. These X-rays reveal the sides of your teeth and may detect decay at an early stage, which in most cases does not create any symptoms.
Ready for Your Next Dental Visit?
From preventive care to personalized treatment options, Forest Heights Dental is committed to helping you achieve your oral health goals.
Reasons You Are Getting Cavities Between Teeth Even Though Brushing
When you ask yourself the question “why do I get cavities even though I brush”, then you should be able to know what happens in those interdental spaces. Let’s break down the main culprits:
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Lack of Flossing
This is the cause of interproximal cavities ranking first. Your toothbrush, however highly advanced it may be, however carefully you brush your teeth, cannot physically reach the contacts between your teeth. The food particles and bacteria present in these tight spaces develop plaque between teeth. Unless this plaque is removed through flossing or interdental cleaning devices, it is left untouched, and it forms acids that slowly erode tooth enamel and form cavities.
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Persistent Plaque and Bacteria
The mouth bacteria do not take breaks even after you brush. They create a sticky biofilm termed as plaque, which attaches to the tooth surface within a few hours of eating. This plaque forms a successful colony of bacteria between the teeth, where very little cleaning is done. These types of bacteria consume sugars and starches in your diet to form acidic byproducts that damage the tooth enamel. In the long run, the acid attack on the environment provides the ideal conditions in which cavities can form.
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Frequent Snacking
This is a fact that most people do not know: it is not only what you eat but the frequency of eating as well. Frequent snacking tooth decay because every time you eat or drink something other than water, your mouth’s pH drops into the acidic range. Between meals, your teeth require time to remineralise as well as recover after these acid attacks. Snacking all day, even on foods that seem harmless, such as crackers, dried fruit, or flavoured coffee, leaves your teeth in a constant acid state, which exposes them to decay, particularly in places between teeth that are difficult to reach.
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Dry Mouth
Saliva is the natural defence for your mouth. It counteracts acids, scrubs off food particles, and has minerals which repair early damage to the enamel. You lose this protective advantage in case of dry mouth (xerostomia), which is caused by medication, a physiological condition, or just a lack of sufficient consumption of water. In the event of a lack of saliva flow, the presence of plaque between teeth becomes easier, and the risk of developing a cavity increases exponentially.
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Teeth Grinding
Teeth grinding or clenching (bruxism) forms small cracks and enamel vulnerabilities in the teeth. These microscopic cracks predispose the tooth to the invasion and decay of bacteria. The grinding stress may also lead to cracks or loosening of the already placed fillings to leave new areas for hiding and harbouring bacteria and the development of cavities, more so between teeth, where the forces are concentrated.
Ready for Your Next Dental Visit?
From preventive care to personalized treatment options, Forest Heights Dental is committed to helping you achieve your oral health goals.
The Solution: How to Stop Cavities Between Teeth
Now that we know about the problem, we will discuss solutions. To prevent interproximal cavities, it is necessary to protect your oral hygiene with the addition of certain tools and habits:
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Flossing (The Non-Negotiable)
Being direct, then, if you want to avoid the cavities between teeth, flossing is a must. There is no other means of physically cleaning the food debris and plaque between your teeth than this. The technique matters, too. Slide the floss in between the teeth, form it in a C-shape around every tooth and up and down the tooth surface under the gum line. At least once per day, but better before going to bed, to eliminate the bacteria and food particles of the day.
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Interdental Brushes
For many people, especially those with larger gaps between teeth or dental work like bridges, interdental brushes can be even more effective than traditional floss. These tiny brushes look like miniature pipe cleaners and come in various sizes to fit different interdental spaces.
These especially come in handy when cleaning around braces, implants, and bridgework. Interdental brushes are proposed by many dental professionals, such as the team at Forest Heights Dental, as a better option for patients who have problems with traditional flossing or have a certain dental structure that makes it less efficient to do so.
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Water Flossers for Cavities Prevention
A water flosser (such as a Waterpik) is a pressurised stream of water used to spray debris and bacteria between teeth and under the gum line. Although they are not supposed to entirely substitute the traditional version of flossing, water flossers are also great when the individual has braces, a permanent retainer, or bridges, or when they have problems using the traditional floss. They’re particularly effective at reducing inflammation and removing loose debris, making them a valuable addition to your cavities prevention toolkit.
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Dietary Adjustments
The decrease in the frequency of the intake of sugar and acid is as crucial as the decrease in the amount. Attempt to take snacks at specific meal points rather than grazing all day. When you eat or even drink something acidic or sweet, run some water through your mouth. Think of chewing sugar-free xylitol gum after a meal; this ingredient is known to increase saliva secretion and neutralise acid. Being mindful of frequent snacking tooth decay patterns can make a significant difference in your cavity risk.
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Routine Dental Visits
Professional care is not only concerned with fixing but also with preventing the problems. Visiting a dentist regularly enables the dentist to identify interproximal cavities at the lowest stages, which in most cases may be reversed with better hygiene and fluoride solutions as opposed to fillings. Hardened tartar (calcified plaque), which gathers in between teeth and cannot be removed either by brushing or flossing alone, can also be taken off by professional cleanings.
The Role of Professional Care at Forest Heights Dental
Cavity between teeth prevention cannot be achieved with perfect home care, despite professional dental visits. Here’s why:
- Professional cleanings reach what you can’t. Dental hygienists at our clinic use specialised instruments to remove tartar buildup from between teeth and below the gum line. As soon as the plaque is hardened in the form of tartar, it cannot be removed with the help of brushing and flossing at home; it needs professional treatment.
- X-rays reveal the invisible. The gold standard in early detection of interproximal cavities is bitewing X-rays. These pictures reveal to you the sides of your teeth that would not be detected by extra visual examination as the decay is forming. By getting these cavities caught at this age, you would experience smaller fillings, less tooth structure lost and increased long-term results on your dental health.
- Personalised prevention strategies. All mouths are different. The dental practitioners at our clinic in SE Calgary could examine your risk factors, which are unique to you, such as tooth spacing, diet patterns or saliva quality, etc., and suggest a specific approach to cavity prevention that would be effective in your scenario.
Conclusion
Having cavities between your teeth, even after brushing faithfully, is not a failure but a sign that your oral care routine needs further additions, not a complete change. Brushing is also necessary, but it is not the only part. In order to really protect the 40% of your tooth surfaces that your toothbrush cannot reach, you must add interdental cleaning devices such as floss, interdental brushes or water flossers to your daily routine.
Knowing the reasons behind interproximal cavities, from the poor nature of interdental cleaning to the frequent snacking habits, will enable you to make specific changes that actually prove to be effective. The combination of these strategies and regular professional attention can eliminate the tendency to frustrating cycles of repeated cavities and allow you to have a healthy smile throughout your life.
If you’re in SE Calgary and wondering, “why do I get cavities even though I brush,” the team at Forest Heights Dental is here to help. Schedule a comprehensive examination to catch any developing cavities between teeth early, receive personalised recommendations for your oral care routine, and finally get ahead of those sneaky interproximal cavities.
