We have all felt that pain. That throbbing, maddening pain emanating from a cavity we hoped would go away on its own — but it didn’t. A quick Google search for “Can you get rid of cavities at home?” yields no less than four million results. This highlights the sheer desperation we all feel when that pain rears its ugly head. In this article, you’ll discover how you got that cavity in the first place and why you cannot treat it at home.
According to the CDC, at least 90 percent of adults over the age of 20 have a minimum of one cavity. The decay process begins years before a cavity appears and it is reversible at the start. If it continues to go unaddressed, the damage is permanent.
One cause of tooth decay is poor oral hygiene. Brushing your teeth and flossing each day removes bacteria from the surface of your teeth. If you do not remove bacteria, they clump together with food debris, creating plaque. Plaque discolors your tooth and erodes the enamel — creating cavities. The following are reasons why you cannot treat these cavities at home.
Your tooth contains three layers: the enamel, dentin, and pulp. The enamel is the outermost layer of your tooth, which protects the delicate inners. Dental decay erodes the enamel over time creating pitted discoloration – a cavity. Although enamel is a tissue, it isn’t a living tissue, so it cannot regenerate once it’s damaged. Even if a product claims to rebuild your enamel, there is no evidence in favor of its effectiveness. Although some kinds of toothpaste claim this ability, the American Dental Association does not list ‘enamel-building’ as a benefit under their ADA-Accepted toothpastes.
Anti-cavity toothpastes just won’t do. Once acids erode your enamel, cleaning the area with fluoride toothpaste will not stop the damage. It takes years for a cavity to form on your enamel, but once it penetrates the dentin, it progresses much quicker. If left untreated, the decay continues to spread, and you risk losing your tooth. To stop further damage, a dentist will remove the decay and fill the open cavity. There are many options for fillings.
These are the most common:
If you don’t have a deep cavity filled, bacteria could re-enter it causing further decay.
Sealing your cavity with an over-the-counter kit does not halt the progression of decay inside of your tooth. The extent of your cavity is imperceptible to the human eye. Using an x-ray, your dentist will get a better picture of your cavity and where it is in the decay process. If it hasn’t reached the dentin, he may prescribe a special toothpaste or mouthwash to treat it. This will not reverse the cavity, but it will stop the decay from continuing to spread. At this stage, it’s important to follow your dentist’s instructions to brush and floss regularly. If not, you run the risk of developing more cavities.
When you leave a cavity untreated, bacteriae multiply inside of your tooth, eventually leading to infection. You cannot treat an active dental infection at home. If you have a dental infection, your dentist needs to remove the infection completely before treating the cavity. If it entered the pulp, he may suggest a root canal to save your tooth. During a root canal, the dentist removes the infected pulp, disinfects the open cavity, and fills the space using gutta-percha. Once your tooth is filled, he seals the top of your tooth (the crown) creating a barrier from future bacteria. If you do not address an infected cavity, it could spread, leading to bone loss and tooth loss.
According to the FDA’s ‘Treatment Options for Dental Caries’, direct fillings and indirect fillings are the only two recommended treatments for cavities. Both are performed in a dental setting.
Direct fillings use restorative materials to fill a cavity. These are materials like composite-resin and glass ionomer cement. Indirect fillings use materials such as gold or ceramics to replace or fill caps.
To date, there are no FDA-approved or FDA-recommended at-home treatments for cavities.
There are no over-the-counter cavity-treating products containing the American Dental Association (ADA) Seal of Acceptance, which they give to scientifically tested dental products. There are more than 95 anti-cavity ADA sealed products for the prevention of cavities, but none for reversal.
If a dental product claims to offer a ‘cure,’ ‘treatment’ or ‘reversal’ for cavities and does not contain the ADA Seal Statement, its effectiveness has not been tested by the ADA, or it has been found ineffective.
One reason you can’t treat your cavity at home is that you can’t tell if it’s too advanced to treat. If your cavity is too advanced and there isn’t enough healthy tooth left to save, your dentist will extract it. This involves removing the entire tooth and, if you choose, replacing it with a dental implant.
So, can you treat a cavity from home? If it’s visible the answer is, see a dentist. You cannot treat these cavities at home. Early-stage cavities that haven't gone past the enamel are easy to treat and, in some cases, they are even reversible, but let a professional make that call for you! Attempting at-home treatments are not worth the risk. The longer you wait to have your cavity treated professionally, the further this decay spreads. Instead of taking the wait-and-see approach, book an appointment with your dentist and discuss more effective treatment options to save your tooth.
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