Know the stages of your tooth decay

Dental caries is the technical term used by healthcare and dental professionals to describe the disease more commonly known as TOOTH DECAY.
Research shows that dental caries occurs across a series of stages, or a ‘continuum’ of disease. The three main stages are known as:
Initial-stage:This is characterized by the first clinically non-cavitated visual changes in enamel seen by a dental professional on clean dry teeth and any equivalent lesions seen on dental x-ray films. These lesions can be controlled and potentially reversed with changes to diet and personal dental hygiene practices, supplemented by fluorides.
Moderate-stage:This is characterized clinically by either a localized enamel breakdown (without clinical visual signs of dentinal involvement) or an underlying dark shadow from dentine – and the equivalent lesions seen on dental x-ray films. Some of these lesions can be controlled by more intensive preventive treatments and homecare, whilst others may require tooth-preserving fillings.
Extensive-stage: This is characterized by a distinct cavity with visible dentine or an extensive distinct cavity with visible dentin which involves more than half of the tooth surface. And the equivalent lesions seen on dental x-ray films. These lesions are likely to require tooth-preserving fillings as well as preventive control of the underlying disease causing factors.

FOR FURTHER READING;
1.Campbell PR (2009). Carious lesions. In NO Harris et al., eds., Primary Preventative Dentistry, 7th ed., pp. 29-42. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

2.Clark MB, et al. (2014). Fluoride use in caries prevention in the primary care setting. Pediatrics, 134(3): 626-633. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2014-1699. Accessed October 3, 2014.

3.Hodges KO (2009). Periodontal diseases. In NO Harris et al., eds., Primary Preventive Dentistry, 7th ed., pp. 46-66. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

4.Klein U (2014). Oral medicine and dentistry. In WW Hay Jr et al., eds., Current Diagnosis and Treatment: Pediatrics, 21st ed., pp. 490-501. New York: McGraw-Hill.

5.National Institutes of Health (2011). NIH fact sheet: Tooth decay. Available online: http://report.nih.gov/NIHfactsheets/ViewFactSheet.aspx?csid=129.

6.The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Council on Clinical Affairs (1967, revised 2014). Policy on use of fluoride. 7.The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. http://www.aapd.org/media/Policies_Guidelines/P_FluorideUse.pdf. Accessed October 3, 2014.