What could be causing all of these cavities?
I am 22 years old, and up until 6 months ago, the most cavities I had ever had in a dentist visit was 3 (usually just 2 or less). 6 months ago I went to the dentist for the usual cleaning and had 12 cavities! I had 6 of them filled, but I had some complications following and no longer trusted the dentist, so I went for a second opinion today. I was expecting to hear that I had 6 remaining cavities to fill at most, but I now have 10 more! 4 more cavities showed up in the span of 4 months. On top of those 10 cavities, I have two old fillings that have to be redone because they've begun decaying underneath of the filling. One of those 2 is a filling I've had for 7 years, and now it's so bad I will need a crown on it. Is there anything (disease, etc.) that can cause this much decay to show up in such a short span? The dentist couldn't even account for it - I don't drink pop at all, brush my teeth daily and floss at least twice a week, usually more, and even use prescribed fluoride rinse. I have even been on a calcium supplement just in case my levels are low (I have Celiac disease and am lactose intolerant). On top of all of this, I have pain in my lower left teeth (terrible cold sensitivity and pain during flossing), and the dentist couldn't explain this at all either. I am just frustrated beyond belief, any thoughts would be appreciated!
I repeat, I don't drink soda or sugary drinks. I brush thoroughly and use fluoride rinse daily. I do floss regularly. When I say it hurts to floss, I don't mean from cutting my gums. My dentist told me today that my gums looked great and don't bleed at all. It's the motion of the floss against my teeth that hurts. I have floss made especially for tight, sensitive teeth and even sawing it in hurts at the crown of the tooth, not at the gum line. That pain just started after recently getting a filling there, but a second dentist said everything looked great with the filling. Weird.
Can I reverse this minor decay in my tooth?
I had my regular checkup yesterday, and as the hygenist was checking for cavities, she found one spot that she thought was just barely sticking, indicating that it could be decay. She wasn't sure, and said that it could just be sticking in the groove a bit. Also nothing showed up on the xray that was just taken. The dentist then looked at it and decided that it should be filled "just to be safe," and that it is a "very small spot."
I've been researching a bit, and it sounds like there is a chance that the decay could be reversed by using flouride as long as it isn't past the enamel. Judging by what they had to say, I'm guessing this isn't past the enamel. Would the explorer (pokey metal thing) actually stick in the tooth if the decay is only in the enamel? It just barely stuck at all.
I'm a little fussy about this, since I haven't had a new filling in probably 15 years (had an old one redone recently) and brush and floss religiously. I really don't want another filling.