I'm just a curious lay person.. I've found myself interested in all
this dental stuff after having to go through a few things.. (Impacted
canines, ankylosed baby teeth, etc). :wave:

In your opinion, what is the main factor in avoiding cavities:
heredity, diet, or hygiene? I know they all play a part, just
wondering which you think plays the largest part. I'm 30, never had
a cavity, and I really don't feel like I've done anything out of the
ordinary to keep myself cavity free, so in part I think some of it
must be heredity. BUT, my parents had pretty bad teeth and are in
dentures now (of course, they were brought up in a different age and
all). I was thinking diet had a lot to do with it too... not just
avoiding refined sugars (I hate normal candy but LOVE chocolate), but
also avoiding acidic foods (I really don't care much for acidic foods
at all!). I've always brushed every night before bed, but didn't
floss until I was an adult. Now, I am in braces, and I brush after
everything I eat, and floss nightly.

Anyhow, thank you for answering! :D

Pamela

Well in my opinion heredity does not have the same dominance in "causing" cavities as the two other factors you mentioned. Some say heredity factors can make one more prone to tooth decay than others but that's as far as it goes. Genes don't cause cavities, the bacteria in our mouths do.

As for diet and hygiene, well, I think diet plays a slightly more important role there. One would have to maintain a relentless oral care to avoid cavities if he or she consumes a lot of sugar-containing foods on a daily basis. Most people brush their tooth at most twice a day, for up to 30 secs. Many people don't floss either. So in such cases if they eat a lot of chocolate, fruits, milk etc. (all contain different types of sugar-though the most damaging type is refined sugar) such oral care will not keep them cavity-free for a long time. On the other hand, I read of some people who don't like nor eat sweets, and hardly brush - and yet they don't have cavities at all.

If you did consume sweets often but did not brush very often and yet you're cavity free at age 30, consider yourself lucky. It's probably has something to do with your teeth structure (not very crowded teeth are easier to clean) and their natural strength.

So your best bet to steer clear of cavities for the rest of your life is, to brush after every meal when you can, regardless what you eat. Brush thoroughly minimum twice a day for 2 minutes each and floss every night before you go to sleep, and even between meals. People with braces especially require more pedantic oral care as foods often stick to the metals.

By the way, chocolate (or cocoa) by itself doesn't induce cavities, it's the added sugar in it that does.

Hope this helps...

Diet is the main cause of cavities. More specifically sugar is the main cause. If you never ate sugar, and never brushed your teeth, then you would never have cavities.

If you look at skeletons of ancient humans, none of them have cavities. They have teeth that are worn down and chipped, and even missing from gum disease, but no cavities. They also had no dentists and never brushed or flossed.

Thanks guys! One thing about the chocolate.. I like dark chocolate, the kind with very little sugar! I'm not talking Hershey's here! :D

Since I have braces now, I do brush after I eat anything, including snacks. It's a habit now, and I'm sure I'll keep it after the braces are off. I floss every night now, too, and will keep that habit as well.

Growing up, I also couldn't stand the feel of stuff on my teeth... Drove me nuts! Even after eating an apple, that feeling you have, we'll I'd have to brush it off. I HATE SODAS for that reason! And anything stuck between my teeth was murder too!

My teeth before braces.. well, I had some spaces and some crowding... but mostly they were ok. The reason for braces was to bring down my impacted canines. BTW, I kept my baby canines until I was 27, and they didn't have cavities either!!!!

Yeah, I do consider myself lucky. I think part of my luck was growing up in the country, where we ate a lot from the garden, and water and milk were our main drinks, not sodas.

Thanks guys! One thing about the chocolate.. I like dark chocolate, the kind with very little sugar! I'm not talking Hershey's here! :D


Well that somewhat explains.



Since I have braces now, I do brush after I eat anything, including snacks. It's a habit now, and I'm sure I'll keep it after the braces are off. I floss every night now, too, and will keep that habit as well.


That's good.



Growing up, I also couldn't stand the feel of stuff on my teeth... Drove me nuts! Even after eating an apple, that feeling you have, we'll I'd have to brush it off. I HATE SODAS for that reason! And anything stuck between my teeth was murder too!


I know the feeling... it is a good awareness feeling, though, if you hadn't removed food particles off your teeth due to this reason I'd be quite skeptical if you would have still managed to stay cavity free!



My teeth before braces.. well, I had some spaces and some crowding... but mostly they were ok. The reason for braces was to bring down my impacted canines. BTW, I kept my baby canines until I was 27, and they didn't have cavities either!!!!


Many people are probably jealous at you...



Yeah, I do consider myself lucky. I think part of my luck was growing up in the country, where we ate a lot from the garden, and water and milk were our main drinks, not sodas.

Apart from luck, one of your best moves is that you avoided soda. Soda and soda-like soft drinks are probably one of the worst things for the teeth; they cause double-damage, both causing cavities due to their high sugar concentration (and the fact it sticks to the teeth) AND causing an accumulated damage to the enamel of the teeth (the outer layer of the teeth) which may eventually cause it to wear off. This is due to them being highly acidic.
And the fact you drank only water and especially milk may also imply why your teeth were so resistant.

I can only wish you you will never know of cavities!