Leaving food stuck in your teeth increases your risk of gum disease and cavities.
If something gets stuck in your teeth.
If food is stuck between the teeth, you will be very worried at first, but you don’t have to worry about it too much as you get used to it over time. But if things are stuck, it will have a very bad effect on your teeth and gums. Specifically, the following things will happen.
■ Gum disease develops rapidly.
The biggest influence is the gum. If something gets stuck between certain teeth, it gets stuck in the same place as one after another every time you eat.
It is a double effect that the stuck thing pushes down the gum mechanically, and the gum bacteria multiply and cause inflammation, and the gum between the teeth decreases rapidly as the gum disease develops.
When the gum falls, the object is pushed into that part, making it harder to catch even with toothpicks and so on, resulting in a vicious cycle. If it gets worse, water can seep after picking things up with a toothpick. For the causes and treatment of gum disease, please refer to “What is the spiral that worsens gum disease?” or “Flow of treatment for gum disease (alveolar pyrrhosis… from dental removal to surgery.”
■ It becomes a cavity.
If there is an object between your teeth, you can get cavities from that part. It is difficult to find even if you have a cavity because it is easy to progress like digging a tunnel inside a tooth from a gap between a tooth and a tooth.
What to do when an object is stuck in the tooth and how to treat it.
If it is easy to get stuck in your teeth, you can deal with it in an appropriate way. Some people may struggle with toothpicks, toothbrushes, floss, etc. every time, but it is important to remove the cause of the object in order to fundamentally solve the problem.
■ If there is a cavity between the teeth.
When the cavity is small, pack the filling. For large cavities, they make metal inserts and cover to remove gaps between the teeth.
■ When there is a gap between teeth.
If there is a cover, you may want to remove it and create a new cover so that there are no gaps. It can also adjust the bite.
Fill in the filling so that there is no space between the teeth.
■ When there is a difference in level between teeth and teeth.
Trim the steps to make them smooth. In the case of a step that is too big, the tooth may be pulled out before covering it with the same height or if the wisdom tooth is pulled out.
Basically, it is important to remove the gap between the teeth, but if it is easy to remove even if the object is stuck, it may be better to remove it every time you eat rather than to remove it by force.
For those who have a lot of things stuck in their teeth, those who have more food after meals, or those who can’t catch them because of food, please see a dentist nearby.