What tooth decay may look like: photos

Manifestations of caries are very diverse. Not only does this disease have several different forms, depending on the location on the teeth, the development of caries itself is also divided into several stages at which carious lesions look quite specific.

For example, in the photo below - generalized caries:

And this photo shows a single tooth decay:

As you can see, the difference is quite substantial and clearly demonstrates that caries can look very, very different.

The following shows caries at an early stage of development, when it is a white or chalky spot (this is how the areas of demineralized enamel look):

And in this photo - deep caries, which already threatens to develop into pulpitis:

It is interesting that at the stage of the spot on caries, most people do not pay any attention - think, the tooth has slightly changed color, you never know what happened to it. But in vain, because at this stage caries can still be cured without a drill, filling and violation of the integrity of the tissues of a living tooth. If you miss the moment, then without installing a seal (at best) it is unlikely that you can already do it.

In many cases, caries develops where it is very difficult to notice (hidden caries) Therefore, even if you well know what tooth decay looks like on your teeth, you cannot be completely sure that if it is not visible in the mouth in front of the mirror, it means that it is not at all. In some cases, even a doctor with a special tool may not notice carious damage, and sometimes the disease can be diagnosed only with the help of special methods of dental examination (x-rays, transillumination, luminescent diagnostics, etc.).

For example, the photo below shows an x-ray of a tooth with a hidden carious cavity:

If enamel damage occurs on the approximate surface of the tooth, it can be extremely difficult to discern such caries even with a dental mirror.

Nevertheless, knowing how caries usually looks at various stages of its development, a person can detect tooth damage in time and consult a doctor. This often helps to save both teeth and a significant amount of money, so let's get to know the whole variety of carious injuries closer ...

 

Types of caries: a visual demonstration

Caries is a disease that damages the hard tissues of the tooth: enamel and dentin. With an initial enamel lesion, the carious area usually acquires a milky white color and loses its luster. When it comes to dentin, by this time both areas of porous demineralized enamel and locally the dentin itself usually already look brown or even almost black, since they are colored with various substances, including dyes from food.

Thus, the stage of the disease, the nature of its course and the localization of the lesion complete the picture and determine how exactly the caries on the teeth look: color, size of the lesion, depth of the carious cavity, the number of lesion sites, etc.

For example, below in the photo - fissure caries. On the teeth, it appears on the chewing surface in natural depressions called fissures. In some cases, the black lines are so small that the dental probe and the doctor’s gaze do not linger on them, but often the problem is clearly visible to the naked eye:

Fissure caries is dangerous because large areas of affected dentin can be hidden under seemingly minor enamel damage. For a better understanding, watch a video that schematically shows how tooth decay penetrates deep-seated tooth tissues:

 

Interesting information about the structure of the tooth and its caries damage

And this photo shows another example of how teeth affected generalized caries. This is a very dangerous form of the disease, which threatens a person with the loss of a significant part of the teeth, depulpation (removal of nerves) and the installation of crowns:

In appearance and nature of the course, bottle caries is close to generalized. The main difference between these diseases is the age of the people they affect: bottle caries develops mainly in children from 1 to 3 years old. This is often associated with weakened immunity and somatic diseases of an early age.

Pictures of Bottle Caries:

A Note About Bottle Caries

The causes of bottle caries go far beyond eating milk, especially at bedtime, as some parents think. It is important here: violation of the feeding regimen, non-observance of hygiene rules by parents in relation to milk teeth, factor of systemic diseases of the baby, aggravating the background of carious processes, directly and indirectly affect the already formed and still not fully mineralized enamel lattice, the composition of the baby's saliva is also important. In general, one definition of “a bottle of milk - caries” cannot be limited.

A separate form is recurrent caries that appears on previously cleaned surfaces. It usually develops at the site of poor-quality tooth treatment around the fillings. In the later stages of development, caries-affected tissues frame the filling and are clearly visible to the naked eye.

The photographs show how caries develops under a filling, manifesting itself in places where it fits to the surrounding tissues of the tooth:

Another option for hidden caries is caries under the gum, where it affects the cement of the root of the tooth. For this reason, it is also called root caries or cement caries. It develops faster than caries of open enamel areas, but it is very difficult to see it.

The photo below shows a removed tooth with root caries:

If the disease develops in the cervical region of the tooth, that is, in areas close to the gum, then in this case we are talking about cervical caries. Such a pathology also has a characteristic appearance: at the base, the tooth appears to be undermined, sometimes along the entire perimeter, while the upper part of the crown often remains generally untouched.

The photographs below show several examples of cervical caries:

Proximal caries is very difficult to detect (sometimes it is called simply - interdental caries): it develops on the surface of the tooth in contact with the wall of the adjacent one. Due to the difficulty in fully cleaning the interdental space with a toothbrush, such caries can grind enamel and then dentin imperceptibly for a long time and often lead to the fact that a person seeks help already at the stage of deep carious tooth damage.

An example of proximal (interdental) caries - note that it is practically not visible:

But in the case of a strong growth of the carious cavity between the teeth, such caries already looks quite, so to speak, classically:

It is important to take into account that, although in the majority of the above photos with dental caries, the disease is shown at quite late stages of development, when the dentine was affected and stained, this does not mean that caries is certainly brown or black spots and holes in the teeth. The color of the affected areas depends on the stage of development of the disease, and can vary greatly, having shades from snow-white to black, including all kinds of variations of brown, gray and yellow.

 

Different stages of caries, different external manifestations

In the photo - caries at an early stage of development:

This stage of the development of pathology is called the white spot stage: only the initial enamel damage and the formation of pores in it under the influence of aggressive acids from the oral cavity occur here. Enamel loses its luster, acquires a lighter, saturated white color.

Here are some more pictures of caries in the spot stage:

And then - the appearance of the carious areas after the through hole was formed in the enamel and the dentin started to fail:

The defeat of dentin marks the onset of the stage of secondary caries.

Further on the photo - caries under a microscope:

On a note

Dentin is much more porous and softer than enamel, and easily absorbs various coloring substances from the oral cavity. That is why, after the start of the lesion, it quickly turns dark.

The picture shows the main stages of development of dental caries:

Under the influence of cariogenic factors, dentin is destroyed much more easily than enamel, and therefore the development of medium caries and its transition to deep decay usually occurs quite rapidly.

With deep caries, as the name implies, the deep layers of dentin are affected up to areas near the pulp. If the pulp itself is affected, pulpitis begins with acute pain and the risk of periodontal inflammation.

An example of deep caries in an x-ray is shown below:

Important!

Deep caries can develop even without visible lesions on the surface of the tooth. On x-rays, it is clearly visible, and therefore a picture is often taken to diagnose it and determine the extent of the lesion.

Depending on the place of manifestation, deep caries looks different. For example, in the photo below - a rather significant tooth lesion with cervical caries:

And here are teeth with deep carious cavities on chewing surfaces:

 

X-ray caries: what it looks like and why photograph it

X-ray pictures of carious teeth allow you to get the most complete picture of tissue damage without opening enamel. The principle of radiography here is that a beam of x-rays is passed through the tooth, which are attenuated differently when the tooth tissue passes. Projecting after such a passage on a sensitive sensor (or film), they show areas where tissues are damaged or missing at all - such areas look darker.

For example, in the x-ray below, a carious cavity in the tooth is clearly visible, which could not be detected with a simple visual examination:

An X-ray is especially useful for detecting recurrence of caries, as well as root caries and proximal caries. For example, here is a photo where you can see how the approximate caries looks in the picture:

 

What leads abstinence from visits to the doctor

Due to too long postponement of a visit to the dentist, multiple caries may develop, which is unlikely to add appeal to someone:

..

Here is another photo that shows the simultaneous deep caries lesion of several teeth at once:

And here - acute caries on the front teeth of the child:

Do not forget that initial caries in the spot stage is usually easily amenable to remineralizing therapy by a dentist and can be treated without preparing a tooth with a drill. You can’t say about deep carious lesions, which can not only cause pain from various irritants, but also turn into a serious complication - pulpitis, when emergency care is often required, since it can be unbearable to endure such pains.

Dentist tells

Many people often ask themselves: can a dentist treat a tooth by himself? I authoritatively declare that such cases occur in practice if the dentist does not trust anyone but himself, or does not have enough funds for these procedures, working in a small town or village.

I can say from personal experience that treating caries in oneself is a difficult matter.You can take a chance only if the working field is clearly visible and the cavity does not have a large area. Despite this, some friends of the doctors did not do this: they independently anesthetized themselves, passed the canal with pulp the front tooth and even with an injection, an incision was made with a "flux" to reduce pain. More often this was due to the inability to seek help from colleagues on holidays (or weekends), or the remote location of the nearest dental office. It sounds incredible, but true: such dentists are extremely fearless people!

The picture shows what happens when caries reaches the pulp and leads to its inflammation:

The photographs below show how some stages of tooth depulpation (nerve removal) look like:

The sooner you notice signs of caries and consult a doctor, the more effective and painless the treatment will be. Caries on the chewing and buccal surfaces of the teeth, and on the front teeth and on the vestibular surface, in many cases, you can independently detect it in the early stages.

For example, here are the front teeth with white spots in the photo - the foci of initial caries:

And then in the photo - the oral cavity with teeth affected by fissure caries. Visible, though not large, but clearly visible dark lines on the molars. Installation of fillings here can no longer be avoided, but it is quite possible to prevent pulpitis from developing.

The onset or possibility of caries in the near future can also be given by tartar. The photo shows an example of such deposits on the inside of the front teeth:

In any case, when looking in the mirror, first of all, you need to pay attention to those parts of the teeth that are significantly distinguished by their color from the neighboring ones. Whether it is too white, beige or, especially, brown - the fact that it differs from the color of intact healthy enamel can already be a sign of tooth damage. And this is a good reason to go to the dentist. If, together with such a non-standard coloring, the tooth also worries, even if not constantly, it should be treated as soon as possible.

 

Interesting video: an example of the treatment of deep caries with the preparation of a tooth with a drill

 

Is it possible to treat tooth decay without pain and without a drill? ICON Technology