The Four Stages of Tooth Decay, 2024
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Artist statement:
When we were discussing tooth decay and how we can incorporate the illness into a piece of artwork, a conversation came up centering around the vastly detailed textbook images of illness progression that you would see in doctors’ offices and clinics. Its purpose was to provide a visual in order to educate incoming patients, but what stood out to the group was how horrifying they were to look at, and then the conversation related to the idea that not everyone catches tooth decay in earlier stages due to several reasons, one being embarrassment or social ridicule. In the aging population, tooth decay is a lot more prevalent and more likely to progress to actual tooth loss to due to the main cause of not getting it checked out sooner. But assuming you find yourself wanting to get checked out, what would you look out for? How can we still educate patients without getting into the gory details?
These conversations sparked the idea to create a piece that still held a certain amount of visual education without capturing the same vast detail and gore that came out of a textbook. This art piece depicts the four main stages of decay by visualizing a main symptom from each stage in a creative and vibrant way. From left to right you have the first stage depicting plague, the second being a cavity, the third depicting sensitivity and the progression of several cavities, and the fourth being tooth loss.
Medical description:
Bacteria in dental plaque metabolize sugars, producing acids that weaken enamel which can break down and cause cavities to form. Tooth decay can cause visible discoloration of the enamel, sensitivity, constant pain/discomfort, and infections. Patients may feel less confident about their appearance and avoid social situations because of embarrassment. Patients may not eat or drink because of hot or cold sensitivities. Some may avoid the dentist due to fear of treatment. Data indicates that caries-active individuals continue to be caries-active for years which only worsens the condition (Flink et al., 2017). Patient education should include the causes of tooth decay, such as the role of bacteria, foods to be avoided, and proper oral hygiene. A study conducted by Hughes et al., (2015) found a photoacoustic microscopy system, to detect the early stage of tooth decay. Treatment options can include fluoride applications, dental filling and more advanced interventions.Creator
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