Tooth Worms

Did you ever wonder if there is a “tooth worm” that eats at the teeth inside, which is what creates the toothache? While the tubules and dentin within the pulp that’s disease do look like a worm, there’s not actually worms in your teeth, even though they do look like this.

The Tubules

Tubules in dentin are little tubes that are hollow and sometimes cause diseases. They’re seen only with a microscope, and they do look like worms according to the ADA. The dentin tubules have a specific job which is pretty important. That is to conduct the sensitivity that’s there when exposed to heat or cold on the surface of the tooth all the way to the nerve.

But there are some instances where discomfort and pain occur when you expose the tubules. They do look like worms at first when you look at them with a microscope. However, they are not actually worms.

The Cause of Dental Disease

If it’s not tooth worms or problems in gums, what’s causing these toothaches?

The most common cause is bacteria, or plaque that forms on the teeth. They decay and play the part of the villain for people.

Plaque is where it forms when there is a lot of buildup near the bacteria that’s within the teeth. It leads to gingivitis and gum disease. It also causes periodontitis, which affects over half of Americans that are above 30 years old.

The treatment for Caries

While there’s no actual worms there, there are treatments that come with this.

Some of the treatments include:

Cleaning out the teeth, filling them with restorations
Preventing the pulp that’s there from being hurt further and dying, with a capping of the pulp
Performing root canals on affected areas

If there is a lot of decay there, to the point where it can’t be salvaged, more than likely they’ll just take it out via extraction. Usually, they replace this with implants, or bridges. Ideally, it shouldn’t get to that point, but you never know.

Overall, your dentist will give you the right treatment. If there is periodontitis, then chances are they’ll also have you get a scaling, which is a deep cleaning of the mouth. This can prevent further worms from burrowing in, giving it a deep cleaning that’ll really work its magic.

Keeping the Mouth Healthy

While you shouldn’t worry about worms, you’ll want to make sure that you keep the mouth clean and healthy.

The best way to treat caries is to prevent them before they get worse. What’s the best way to prevent this though?

Well, the best ways are as follows:

Brush your teeth twice daily for two minutes with a fluoridated toothpaste
Floss once a day to get in between the teeth
Rinse out with a mouthwash that’s antibacterial, and ideally alcohol free so that you don’t dry out the mouth and invite the cavity causing bacteria in
See the dentist every six or so months to get a checkup and to look for any possible problems that might occur
Have the teeth that are damaged examined and taken care of as soon as possible, in order to mitigate the damage that’s there

With a lot of advancements in modern medicine and dental science, you want to make sure that you take the time to ensure that this is properly taken care of.

Practice good oral hygiene practices, and from there you won’t have to worry about the dental worms. They’re for the birds then, rather than for your teeth.

Dentistry has come a long way, and here, we’ll go over some of the different historical practices that were used, and what was done to take modern dentistry to where it is today.

Ancient Techniques

Density is actually a very old medical practice, with it dating all the way back to 79000 BC, and seen in the Indus valley. However, the descriptions of tooth decay were first seen in Sumerian texts. However, these were wrong, and they talked about tooth worms that caused tooth decay. Obviously, that isn’t the case.

However, Aristotle and Hippocrates did write about the treatment of decaying teeth. Back then they used fine-tooth combs, in order to ensure that their teeth were cleaned. These were made from the hair of animals. They also used toothpaste, but tit was a very abrasive product.

The Middle Ages

The middle ages saw some dentistry as well, except these were in the form of magic and myths, which have since been disproven.

Back then people thought that teeth were magical items. They were also used to protect a child from fairies.

The Europeans did believe that witches would curse people with their teeth, so they would dispose of them either through swallowing, burying, or even burning their teeth. Some fed them to rodents, or were even just thrown out.

Tooth decay was again thought to be caused by a tooth worm, which they thought burrowed into a tooth like it did with wood. Some of the remedies for this were interesting. While some were more normal like burning candles made of eryngo seed and sheep suet near the teeth, others were quite interesting, such as kissing a donkey, as purported by Germanic legend.

Some even said they should not clean their ears, as the practitioners did advise against cleaning up the ears to prevent this. obviously there was a lot of false information which would not be disproven for another few centuries.

The Beginning of Modern Dentistry

Remember the idea of tooth worms? Well that was thought to be a thing until the 1700s! However, in 1530 there was a little medicinal book that talked about the infirmities of the teeth, which was devoted to dentistry.

The first dentists were seen in the 1700s, with Pierre Fauchard in 1723, being the father of modern dental practices. He wrote a whole comprehensive means for treating and caring for teeth. He was also the first to introduce fillings, and dental prosthesis. He also figured out that sugar and acids were what caused dental decay.

The first dental college was founded about a century later in 1840, and this was the Baltimore college of Dental Surgery, which was something that seemed to be popular back then. The ADA was formed in the 1860s, 20 years before the first dental practice was founded in Alabama.

Then of course, the first dental institution and university was the Harvard University Dental School, which they founded back in 1867.

Colgate was the first to make modern toothpaste, which was made in 1873, and toothbrushes were founded a few years after that.

The first x-ray was used in 1896, and more systems for crooked teeth developed here. Obviously, when we look at where it’s come today, we have a lot more to work with.

Various cleaning devices that get deep like the cavitron are popular. There’s also various technology to see directly any malicious tissues, such as cancers and growths. With the evolution of dental care, we see how far it’s come, and how through this constant evolution, we are able to care for more people than ever before.

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