Bugs, yuck!
I found this poor insect dead and protruding from a silver leaf maple tree in my front yard. Strange, isn't it? Bugs are a fact of life. They are all around us and in us as well (the bacterial kind, that is). Without those bacterial bugs we couldn't survive. Did you know there are more bacteria in your body than your own cells? Most of the time our bodies and bacteria work together in perfect harmony to accomplish things we couldn't do without those little helpers. But sometimes things get out of balance and problems arise. One of those problems can be cavities (dental caries, we call them).
There are almost countless species of bacteria out there. Of those bacteria, only a few cause dental caries. The big players are two called streptococcus mutants and lactobacillus. There are other bugs that play a role as well, but they all have some characteristics in common. They love to eat simple carbohydrates (think sugar) and they love an acidic environment.
So what can we do?
The caries management system addresses the bacteria in several ways. We remove the bacteria, we kill the bacteria, we turn your mouth into a hostile environment, we trick the bacteria into eating xylitol (which they can't digest, so they die), and we clean your teeth in our office and teach you how to clean most effectively at home.
You might be interested in this video that introduces some information on xylitol.
via GIPHY
xylitol, one of the secret weapons in the fight against tooth decay
Target acquired!
As you can see, the caries management system addresses the harmful bacteria. In fact, it targets the culprits in some very specific and effective ways…just like my cat, Sidney, is targeting this cat toy!
Next time I'll discuss how the caries management system actually changes the teeth so they are more resistant to hostile attack.
By the way, I'd be curious to know if anyone can tell me what's going with the bug in that first picture. Any ideas?
Thanks for reading my blog and stay tuned!
