How can a dentist tell you have a cavity?

Question

I recently went to the dentist back in April, and then just recently today, each time a different dentists because the one I went to in April was too busy to see me until next week and I'm having an emergency type situation (impacted wisdom tooth).

Anyways, the dentist I went to in April, told me I had one cavity forming, and that was it. Some of my teeth have these little black spots on them, but he said as long as they aren't tacky when he sticks them with the metal poker thing (sorry not sure of the term) , and they aren't showing up on the xrays, than they aren't cavities. He claimed that they don't really know what causes the discoloration, possible being a heavy coffee drinker and tobacco use. I drink a lot of coffee, and I used to smoke but have quit since then.

The guy I went to today, looked at the xray, and said you have one cavity, and then went through my mouth and just looked at all the other teeth, saw the black spots and said they were all also cavities. Didn't really poke them at all.

So one dentist said I had only 1, and the other said I had 10. I guess I'm wondering how they decided it's a cavity?

The first guy seemed much nicer to me, as he explained why he didn't feel they were cavities. The second dentist was kind of just an *** about the whole thing.

I felt like I went to VIP auto and had my car checked out and they came back with 100 things to repair so that they can get more money out of me.

Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks so much!

Answer 1

Cavities show up on xrays.

Those other little black spots MIGHT be cavities that are starting to form, but haven't eaten all the way through the tooth yet.

First off, you need a CLEANING.  A Dental Hygenist will do this for you, if they haven't already.  The clearning might take the little black spots off. In taht case don;t worry about it.

If the cleaning doesn't take the spots off, then they are "newborn" cavities, and you need to have them ALL looked at before they get worse.

Heavy coffee use and/or tea and/or colas and/or smoking will discolor your teeth.  but regular brushing (like every night and every morning) will prevent it from getting worse.

Answer 2

A cavity, or dental caries, is a result of decay caused by bacteria and result in damage to the structure of teeth.  Cavities are detectable in different ways, depending on the tooth, the cavity and the location.  Some can be seen visible to the trained eye, others are detected by feeling a softness in the tooth with an explorer.  While others that are harder to see/feel can only be detected by taking x-rays.(Usually xrays are used to check for cavities between the teeth that are not visible to the naked eye).

Often there are stains that are thought to be cavities, but if there is no damage to the tooth (a softness or stickiness when poked with the explorer), a dentist may wait and evaluate the area at the next check up if there is no other sign of decay.

Just like with other situations in life, professional opinions can vary and 2nd opinions are always a good idea.

If it were me, I would opt to wait and see on those particular teeth that could be stains.  Treating that area would require drilling into healthy tooth and enamel and would be ashame to do so if it was nothing more than just discolored.

Good Luck!