One of the top things dentists look for during examinations is cavities. A cavity is something that develops on a tooth and eats at the tooth structure. If a dentist finds a cavity in your mouth, he or she will want to remove it to protect your tooth. If you fail to get the cavity filled, further damage can occur inside your mouth, and here are some of the problems this could lead to.

The cavity will spread

There is one thing you can count on with cavities – they spread. A cavity begins as a sticky spot on a tooth, but it then begins to eat away at the tooth and creates a hole in it. As this cavity remains on the tooth, it begins eating away at more of the tooth. If you leave a cavity on a tooth for a long enough period of time, it could eat away at the entire tooth. If this happens, you will no longer have a tooth in this spot. Cavities spread quickly, and this is why dentists like to fix them as soon as they find them.

The cavity could infect the roots of your tooth

Have you ever experienced a toothache? If so, you can probably remember how much pain you felt from it, and you should realize that many toothaches occur from infections in the roots of teeth. When the bacteria from a cavity works its way inside the inner parts of the tooth, it can end up finding its way into the roots of the tooth. When this happens, you will experience pain and sensitivity with this tooth, and you could develop a really bad toothache. At this point, you would likely need a root canal procedure to fix the problem. If you had fixed the cavity at an earlier point in time, you could have avoided needing a root canal procedure.

The cavity could affect your gums

The other problem you could experience from leaving a cavity untreated is problems with your gums. Bacteria from cavities spreads into the gum lines in your mouth, and this can eventually cause your gums to recede. When this happens, it is called gum disease, and gum disease will also progress and spread if left untreated.

If you currently have a cavity in your mouth, get it removed and filled. You can avoid developing other problems if you take care of this cavity, and you could also save this tooth. If you need to schedule an appointment, call a dental office like Dr. Jerry F. Maymi & Associates.