The beauty and anatomy of a tooth, it’s more complicated than one would think. Much like the rest of our body a tooth is made of its own life cycle and system. We often hear that a patient doesn’t think they have a cavity because the tooth doesn’t hurt. Well believe me, if your tooth is hurting because of a cavity the chances are that the decay has reached the nerve of the tooth and now needs more than a simple filling. It’s occurred to me that if people don’t know how a tooth is structured then they won’t understand what I mean! So I figured, let’s dive in there!
A tooth is made up mainly as three separate parts. The first is the enamel. The enamel is the white outer layer of tooth that protects the tooth from the outside world. Enamel is the hardest surface in the body even harder than bone! The second layer is called dentin. Dentin is softer and has microscopic tubes that help carry the nutrients to the tooth. It’s yellowish in colour and if the enamel is worn down from things like acidic foods or grinding this is where teeth can become sensitive. Dentin also takes on decay faster because it is softer and bacteria can eat through it quicker. The third and final layer of your tooth is the nerve canal. This is where blood enters your tooth to keep it alive. This is the area dentists clean out when they do a root canal. They remove the blood vessels and nerves so that the infected tooth is clean and free from decay that has reached into the nerve.
There are more factors of course that can lead to tooth decay, sensitivity and root canals however this is just so you can visualize how a tooth is made up. A tooth is beautiful thing and we need to give credit where credits deserved.
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