Cavities aren’t fun. No one wants to sit in that patient chair at their local dental office getting a cavity filled. But if you have a cavity and don’t get it fixed, it will get bigger and bigger, ultimately causing more pain and damage to your dental health.
To protect your dental health, it’s best to treat a cavity before it gets worse. Thankfully, symptoms of a cavity can warn you that there’s something that needs to be fixed — and soon.
Your Edinburg dentist at Heroes Dental is here to teach you all about cavities, the most common cavity symptoms, and how our trustworthy team can fix them right up for you!
Edinburg Dentist Basics: What Is a Cavity?
Cavities — sometimes called caries — are permanent tooth decay found on the hard surfaces of your teeth. Once a little cavity is formed, it will develop into a hole that will continue to get bigger and affect deeper parts of the tooth.
Unfortunately, cavities don’t heal on their own. You will need to visit the dentist to have the tooth decay cleaned out and filled with a dental filling made of composite resin.
Watch Out for These 8 Symptoms of a Cavity
Since you’ll want to get a cavity taken care of before it becomes a bigger problem, you should watch out for these symptoms of how to tell if you have a cavity. Keep in mind that these cavity symptoms may vary from person to person and also depend on how severe or deep the cavity is.
- Tooth sensitivity to hot, cold, or sweets
- Mild to severe toothache
- Holes or pits in your teeth
- Bad breath
- Black or brown discoloration on the tooth’s surface
- Mild to sharp pain with eating or drinking
- Pain when biting down
- Bad taste in your mouth
If you have one or more of these symptoms, never ignore them. If you choose to avoid visiting the dentist and the cavity gets bigger, your cavity symptoms will get worse and you may need more extensive dental treatment, such as a crown or root canal.
When Should I Visit Heroes Dental for My Cavity Symptoms?
Sometimes we wonder if we’re making a bigger deal over our cavity symptoms and think we can wait a few months before scheduling a dental appointment. But with cavities, we definitely don’t want to wait or let them get worse.
If you start experiencing one or more cavity symptoms, it’s time to see your dentist at Heroes Dental for a dental check-up. In the meantime, check inside your mouth and see if you can spot any symptoms of a cavity. You may only have bad breath as your first symptom, but when you look in a mirror, you might see some discoloration or holes.
Take care of your dental health by scheduling a cavity exam at your Edinburg dentist today and catch those cavities before they get worse!