Food Debris Regularly Trapped Between Your Teeth? You Might Have a Food Trap
Posted on: 26 August 2021
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Everyone is familiar with the unpleasant sensation of getting food stuck between their teeth. Sometimes it feels like those debris are firmly wedged in place, and it takes some dedicated attention from your toothbrush and dental floss to dislodge the culprit. If this seems to happen so regularly that it's become downright annoying, you might have a food trap between your teeth.
Food Traps
It's a fairly informal term, but a food trap is when the configuration of your teeth has created a hollow where it's easy for food debris to accumulate while being hard to remove. These traps are typically found between teeth but can also occur between teeth and gums. Many food traps are located where there is inadequate contact between your teeth, such as a gap between one tooth and its neighbour. While diligent flossing is usually adequate to remove debris from the trap, it can be an annoyance to have to do this each time you eat. There's also the possibility that you might not be removing all debris from the trap.
Ongoing Problems
A food trap doesn't pose an immediate threat to your dental health, but the ongoing presence of food debris that isn't adequately removed can cause a few problems. The trapped food will begin to decompose, which isn't good news for your breath. The oral bacteria in your mouth will continue to interact with the food debris, which creates an acidic compound that begins to attack the dental enamel coating your teeth. In short, it's extremely unwise to allow debris to gather in a food trap.
Eliminating Food Traps
Your dentist will examine the area of concern and will have a few recommendations. They may opt to alter the gap between your teeth that has created the food trap. This can be achieved by modifying the teeth on either side of the gap, using dental crowns, or even by altering the edges of the teeth with dental bonding (the application of a composite dental resin). It's impossible to foresee the exact solution a dentist will use because so much depends on your personal circumstances. Your dentist may also suggest that no direct action is needed, and you might simply need to upgrade your oral hygiene arsenal, utilising a water flosser to flush your food trap, efficiently removing trapped debris.
Having food regularly (and firmly) trapped between your teeth can indicate a food trap, and it's important to have your dentist investigate your suspicions since a food trap can spell trouble for your dental health. Reach out to a dentist to learn more.