Are Dental Cavities Always Black?
Discovering dark spots or lines on your teeth is bound to leave you fearing the worst. After all, healthy teeth should be completely white shouldn't they? It is true that young, healthy teeth start out pearly white. It is also true that cavities can appear brown or black in colour. However, there are also several other less serious reasons for black or brown marks on teeth.
If you spot what you think is a cavity, try to examine the area thoroughly before assuming the worst. Unless you can clearly see a hole in a tooth, you could be looking at something else.
Pit and Fissure Stains
Premolars and molars, the back teeth you use for crushing and grinding, contain pits and fissures. These tiny grooves help you to better break apart your food as you chew. However, over time, especially if you enjoy staining foods like coffee and tomato flavoured pasta sauce, stains can accumulate in these indentations.
You may, for example, see a brown or black channel in a back molar. While this could be a cavity, it could also be a stain. Unless you can see visible demineralization, don't assume it is a cavity.
Arrested Cavities
What you are looking at in the mirror could indeed be a cavity. However, since it is possible for cavities to heal to a certain extent, you could be looking at an inactive cavity. That is, a cavity that the affected tooth has managed to heal. These kinds of cavities can be large or small. Though the enamel cannot regenerate, the dentin layer can.
As long as your diet is rich in minerals such as phosphorous and calcium, your teeth can arrest tooth decay. Therefore, the brown or black mark could be an inactive cavity.
Cavities
That dark spot on your teeth could also be a cavity. When the acid produced by tooth decay-causing bacteria dissolves the enamel, the rate of cavity formation accelerates. The underlying layer of dentin is softer than enamel. It is also spongy in nature. This means that it has little defence against acid erosion caused by bacteria.
The tooth decay itself does not cause the black discolouration. That is caused by staining. Since dentin is porous, it can quickly pick up stains. These stains may be due to food particles and bacteria inside the tooth.
Even if you don't think the staining on your teeth is due to cavities, you can't be one hundred percent sure. Only a dentist has the tools to properly identify a brown or black stain.
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