A black spot on the tooth can develop into a monster 

Same thing happened to me. I asked a dentist a few times what the dark spot on my back molar was. "I don't see anything, everything looks fine!" Fast forward a year or so, I move to another state for work and my first visit to a new dentist is, "That back molar has to come out, there is no saving it."

As a dentist, I will comment like this: such dark spot on a tooth surface, usually hard then probing, without perceptible cavitation and/or continuation into dentin (through visual ispection, probing, x-ray, translumination,..) is considered a "stable caries lesion". It usually forms some time after the tooth erupts, when the grooves in the tooth surface are deep, hard to clean, caries process begins, but is stoped (stabilized and even reversed) with good enough oral hygiene, also important that the tooth gets enough calcium and fluoride. It can stay like this for a lifetime. It is usually marked on the patient's card and followed-up for years without need for intervention (counceling for good oral hygiene habits and fluoride usage helps to make sure it won't progress). The dark colour usually indicated that the enamel surface is remineralized with calcium and fluorides. It is considered "as good as healthy tooth structure". That's why most of people in the comments have their dentists said: "it's fine". In this particular case doctor drilled the lesion and filled it to make sure it won't cause later problems. I would have not done that. The filling usually needs to be replaced after some time. Every time you replace it, you remove more and more of sound tooth structure. By applying fluoride warnish and regular follow-up, this tooth had the potential to stay cavity free and filling free for life. Sometimes it is very difficult to evaluate the risks. Some lesions are obviously "stable", some needs drilling, and some are in between, so the treatment decision will differ from dentist to dentist. And every patient is different, for some you see tens of balck spots which are fine for years, and for other person it can easilly progress into a cavity if he/she changes diet or is a teenager and stops cleaning the teeth for some time. The comment is obviosly too long, but let me finish like this - if you have black spots/grooves like this for some time, it is most likely fine and will stay like this for years. Especially if your dentist checked it and said it's fine. Relax and take care.

I once asked my dentist "why do you guys always drill a way bigger hole than the one that was on the surface? Aren't you drilling away healthy tooth, can't you make it smaller?" She was offended and upset, and invited me to watch every step of my filling while she showed me what really lied under the surface. She taught me how to press on the dentin with a scaler, to feel for stickiness to see if it's decay or healthy tooth. I felt very silly for making such an accusation lol. More people should know about this! Thanks for the awesome explanation.

Very informative video. I had no idea Jordan Peterson knew about dentistry

Teeth are really annoying, they need a ton of care, they can still get cavities easy, sometimes what looks like no big deal turns out to be a huge cavity, they are the only part of the body that can't heal themselves and we only get one Set for life

I've had black spots on a few of my teeth since I was 13 years old (30 today), not in the same place as showcased in the video, but still something that used to worry me. My sister is a dentist and she always told me it was fine and that I shouldn't worry. However, every time I would see a dentist that wasn't her, they would try to convince me that my teeth were doomed unless I went under a crazily expensive treatment. Thing is, having a sister as a dentist, I always took really good care of my teeth. Never neglected them, always used dental floss, brushed carefully, and even moderately used mouthwash. I believe there are cases like mine where you can have some dark spots that are solely pigmentation due to factors like feeding habits. I've been living with these spots for almost 30 years, and never felt any pain nor sign that would suggest something bad was going on.

This is actually true, for those who don’t believe it. I have 1-2 black spots that are tiny and every time my dentist says “it’s fine, it’s just a stain” and every time I visit the dentist they just say it’s ok. So i do believe this video, and it’s pretty weird that my dentists doesn’t want to check what’s actually going on

"Teeth are supposed to be hard, not soft" it's become like a catchphrase across these videos

i always wondered "why dont they just rip the tooth out?" but then i remembered you only have 2 sets of teeth

I have dark spots too and my dentist keeps saying it’s fine. :(

In my opinion, the hugest pain in the ass for me and in the human body are teeth, (my teeth are somewhat healthy) think how much maintenance you need to put into them, how easily they can get wrecked, how easily cavities can happen due to genes (I dont think that I have a problem with my genes) and when you have lost one, it wont grow back what is kind of a shame but evolution thought we didnt need that dlc and there are other reasons aswell.

I have two molars with a few black spots. My dentist took x-rays and analysed it and said it wasn't a cavity and was all fine. She said "if all dark spots on the tooth were cavities then we could not help everyone in this city in two years". She said as long as the oral hygiene is good and we keep regular visits to the dentist, then everything is fine, and they just leave it be.

Went to my dentist about a year ago, and they found a little "cavity spot" on my tooth, they IMMEDIATLY scheduled an appointment the next day for me to get a filling, they did NOT want that spot to turn into a cavity. I am thankful.

Just adding my own experience: I've had multiple cavities since childhood on all of my molars. Every single one was a tiny black dot with deep decay. Though, there WAS an anomaly : a huge black stain that was limited to the surface.

a week ago i went to the dentist (which i never do) to see about having a wisdom tooth removed that was bugging me, and the dentist was like "to have it removed will be a costly surgical procedure and it is not a big enough issue at the moment, but what is an issue is that giant hole in your tooth" and i'm like, oh yeah the tiny black dot, i know it's a small cavity but it's not giving issues atm, and he's like "no, not tiny cavity, it's a hole" and after some drilling magic he exposed the complete decay of the inner tooth and holy smokes, i was stunned. He said i was 3 weeks away from developing an abscess. He filled it up quick and was confused when i said i have never experienced tooth aches before from that tooth. I'm sure to do more dental check ups in future; i got a bit of a fright lol. Cavities are sneaky

does the dark spot is seems small but actually deeper ?

i always thought it was just food that couldn’t be brushed off, turns out i have cavities 💀😭

I have always wanted to see what dentists see, this is great

I have experienced the opposite: my dentist used to scratch at the spot every time, found nothing and considered the tooth O.K. When I had to go to a different dentist for something else, she said "this tooth has a cavity." I insisted to go to my regular dentist, she x-rayed the tooth and sent me home. This was in 2010. The tooth still has no filling.

10 dentist 10 opinions. In one day I went to 3 dentist 1st one said I have 7 cavities nothing else. 2nd one said 3 extraction for wisdom teeth and 2 cavities 3 rd one said 5 cavities, and 1 wisdom tooth extraction. Why don't these dentists have same opinions. Who do we listen to?

I had the same little black spot on one of my molars. Turned out to be a huge cavity underneath it. Its weird because I wasn’t experiencing any pain.

Man this is making me extremely anxious since I have a few black spots too, and im really anxious if it comes to dentists...

Gawd that's one scary little black dot. Fix the damage while it's still small people

It's amazing how much our oral health can affect other parts of our body. Especially our head and neck.

Just got two fillings, a few weeks ago. Wasn't aware that I had cavity. I knew that's what I was. After I got my two front teeth filled. I have way less headache now. The headaches were terrible.

My dentist is literally a perfectionist she always cleans my teeth during braces adjustments and I still cant believe she doesnt see my small dark spot

currently agreeing with the title because i once had a small black spot on my tooth, now it's the bane of my existence causing me unrelievable pain every week, Pain killers barely even work now

the same thing happened to me. The dentist told me that I have 3 small cavities and he can do all three in the same day. It turned out that all three teeth have pulpitis! For several days I went to have my pulpitis treated and the nerves killed in one tooth WITHOUT AN ANESTHETIC. It was the worst pain I have ever suffered and I will never forget it

very informative clip! I believe the most conservative filling would be the one done at the earliest signs of decay

I've had black spots on my back molars since childhood thanks to poor diet and oral hygiene. A dentist around 6 or so years ago said I'd likely need a filling in 6 months but I've not needed anything since as I now am careful with both my diet and oral care. I suppose it's possible to prevent further decay though the black spots will remain.

this video is one of my worst nightmares. I hate going to the dentists but i have a dark spot in my back molar. I"ve had fillings done before and its always hell on earth because of the fear, pain, and discomfort

at that point does it hurt or feel some pressure when burring? Im kinda afraid at this point with my tooth that has a mild pain to it but quickly goes away after I brush my teeth, and its also the tooth with a needed filling replacement as well. I dont want it to be removed as two of my left and right molars where removed already 😨😩

This happened to me as well. But the decay remained untreated until one day my tooth broke itself, only two third of it remained.

Love the video! Thank you!

watching this video as i wait because in a few days there's a possibility i might get into university to study dentistry :)

Is it possible that you have a very small black spot but inside is very destroy and it isn't painful?

A visit to the dentist can develop into a pit of debt you can never escape from

What happens when another dentist replaces the filling? Will they remove part of the tooth with the filling, which may lead to a root canal?

I had one on number 9 or ten (the last tooth on the right side before the molars start) and part of the tooth completely crumbled away revealing a massive decay through the side. Fast forward 3 and a half years and i ended up getting an infection in that tooth, the pain was otherworldly.

I need a dentist who will actually do the work on my teeth. They are getting worse & I've had numerous consults yet they never follow up after. I am really worried now about my teeth. What can I do? Or is it too late?

One of the reasons why I don't like having a dental filling is when it breaks most often than not your tooth needs to be pulled out?

A similar thing happened to me too. One day I noticed a small hole on top of one of my teeth. Went to a dentist to get it checked out. My tooth's inside turned out to be completely empty! I was shocked lol! My teeth didn't hurt at all that day or even before that.

A lot of people. Don't know when they have cavity. Till it's later on, when they start to feel the pain. It's through the enamel and onto the soft spot, near the nerves.

I have 2 cavity filling in a same teeth , does it weaken teeth ?¿

i have these stains. they didn't show up as cavities on the x-ray and my dentist says it's nothing, just stains 😬

Around 10-11 years back, I has a similar black spot on my tooth, the dentist drilled and filled it.. this filling always came loose or got eroded in few year and the dentist had to drill deep, to get the gunk out (as per him). After ten year of drilling, filling finally there wasn't any original tooth material remained, so he gave an option to completely remove whatever remained of the tooth and insert a false one in it's place. About 5 years back, I had a black spot on a tooth on the opposite side, that I didn't want to get fixed. This tooth is still around and the size of the black hole isn't increased.

Several dentist utter disaster keeps life long remembered

You can tell that’s like a hole, but what about those little dark stains? Is that not yet a cavity? I’ve wondered. I guess if no pain it’s not too much of an issue? Isn’t that what the fluoride is for too, to like stop it from getting worse?

Went to a dentist due to a whole which developed in my tooth. The dentist said to me (without doing x-rays) first I should have fillings on other teeth because he felt he'd seen some precursor to tooth decay. However another dentist said (after x-ray) my teeth did not need any treatment. Make you feel so conflicted. Should or shouldn't it be done. :/

That's the reason why my father (old school dentist) uses teeth cement as underfilling. Not just for protecting the living tissue from the cytotoxic monomer filling material (methyl methacrylate)... when it has to be replaced the dentist sees/knows where the filling ends and the tooth begins! 😉

It would be nice if we could even see a dentist in the UK. I have been on an NHS waiting list for 10 years and my children who are 7 and 5 are still waiting to register.

I just drained an abscess in my lower left jaw and inner cheek that has kept me up crying like a baby for three nights and days. My utter and complete fear of dentistry in any form keeps me from going to the dentist and no dentist in my area is willing to sedate me.

My dentist noticed a few of these little dark spots but they didn’t fill them. They just shaved em out real quick, no pain meds used or even needed. I’m sure that helps but now I’m worried what if I needed more work. It’s been two years though and I haven’t had anymore spots so it’s probably okay

I ended up with six of these--one of them I had noticed about 15 years before a dentist decided something needed to be done about it (the dentist before just had a couple teeth on a watch list, but otherwise didn't do anything).

I have one of these but can't see a dentist what should I do?

I can't believe Saul Goodman is now a dentist

Oh great.. I was just today at my dentist because I have seen black spots on one of my molar these past 2 years. She took x-rays and also put her tool to it and pooked and said, its not a hole, just caries that seem to have healed. Watching this video, insert anxiety! What if there is a nasty hole under the dark spots...

i wish getting my teeth fixed wasnt so expensive..

Love his calm instruction

One of my molar fillings cracked and I swear orajel barely numbed the pain it was throbbing So bad I would've pulled it out myself eventually lol

Oh if this isn’t fixed you could be looking at a root canal an lots of pain. Dental students are fun, although I’m not a dentist but I know everything a real dentist knows. It runs in my blood!

My dentist didnt do anything against my dark spot but now it startetd hurting -.-

I have some dark spots on my teeth, I went to the dentist not too long ago and they said it was staining. I still worry about it though and keep up on my brushing because I’m still worried about it

Slow, not getting the tooth hot? Let me tell you this ... when I was in my first school almost 30 years ago they didn't know words like that. They didn't know water as well. They have "fixed" one of my tooth so good, it needed a root canal treatment 15 years later, because the main part of the tooth got "eaten" from the inside.

Never be afraid to even travel cities for one visit if you are unsure. I see tech going forward yet the skills are mostly going backwards. We reached a point where 8 dentists will have 8 different diagnosis for you for the same tooth. I got 2 teeth destroyed when under anesthesia. I was unaware what was happening and were just receiving a calm words of "I just need to put finishing touches into this tooth, Be calm and dont move, everything will be fine". Tooth looked fine in the mirror but i felt it problematic to floss it and after anesthesia worn out... What a pain, could not sleep, could not eat, could not even touch the tooth. Did an x-ray and the person doing it could only spit out utter silent "Oh sh**". Then I got in front of the screen and received the "Good news"... This mad man thought my tooth was a sculpture, hit the pulp, cracked it and left excess mass making a bridge between two. I am still unsure if I even needed that treatment after all or if it was just a money grab for a student.

I heard the base contains Florida so attempt to save the tooth from further decay.. Do all bases contain fluoride?

I got 3 black spot on my under teeth. At first, I just want to get scaling but then the practical doctor said, he want to treat my teeth. I let him do it because I thought it was nothing serious. Then he drilled my teeth. That was a crazy moment I had. I have a question to aak, is it normal to do the treatment without anaesthetized?

I have a little crack in my tooth on the top of one of my bottom teeth , it doesn’t bother me or anything and the dentists never point it out , should I be okay?

I have a huge chunk on the side of my molar missing, my dentists say that it’s not a cavity and that it was caused by a bracket from my braces and I’m so confused on how that happened and I’m about to get it filled I’m scared ash🗿

I have this OMG I'm going to the dentist now I have cavities ihhhhh

How do you know you where that close to the pulp to the point of doing indirect pulp capping?

I'm just glsad all of my cavities where obvious, all of them had a huge opening but wasnt deep at all, my most recent one was inbetween my two fron teeth and that filling lasted a solid 15 minutes, it only took 30 secons to finish the prep for my filling, but the dentist did a really good job on my teeth.

Question... is it most accurate to say a cavity is specifically caused by ACID, not being brushed/rinsed away fast enough? If so, would this then mean that presence of acid doesn't automatically mean caused by bacteria, but perhaps something else like food? Thanks.

As a dental student I can definitely tell that is so true I removed a carious lesion like that today. It was just a tiny black spot but it actually extended all the way to the pulp (nerve)

Me with dozens of it on my teeths : chuckles I am in danger.

I have a same black spot that I noticed about a week ago, I have braces so I usually brush very good, as well as floss, when I bite it doesn’t hurt or anything can it be a cavity? And the dot is black.

If it hit the nerves and blood come out.. Can dentist put paste/pasta right away???

Hi I have done filling for 4 teeth after filling how along it will stay white cement can you please tell because after filling I got black lines around side teeth.

It just goes to show that you never really know what is in there until you prep the tooth. Rarely, there will be one like this that is just stain and we basically end up doing a preventive resin restoration. Most of the time there's caries in there!

I've had so many dentists tell me that the stain on my tooth is fine. I have a gut feeling its not fine.

I have to got to the dentist again to get my fourth filling

I rather stay with my cavity teeth. Dentists keep drooling till there’s no layer left anymore thinking that they are helping people but they are just destroying the whole tooth.

My dentist told me one of my molars is really close to developing a cavity, but that it should be fine if I keep up with my oral hygiene. How am I supposed to know if the tooth is fine or if it's getting worse? I brush twice a day with flossing once as well but I'd like to be sure it isn't progressing. Also: How long would it take for something like this to progress into the pulp of the tooth?

Great vid! I hope I can make a good cirurgic procedure now. I'd hate to lose a pacient.

Wow 😳 smart dentist good job 👏

Hey guys, I had a couple of these black spots on my molars with no pain. I had them checked out and the dentist said they were just stains and they won't turn to cavities if I keep taking care of my teeth. I am a little suspicious though because I have had periods of time where I didn't take proper care.

This happened to me in almost all my mollars, so sad and tricky.

After years of examining that dark spot on my tooth, it was labeled as a birth mark. But still, they got rid of it just in case.

That's how you kill a tooth. Most likely need a root canal after that deep drilling. More money for the dentist. Happened to me on my molar and the dentist killed it with his drill. Wasn't painful at all before he was trying to "fix" it.

I wish you could be my dentist

oh no i’m paranoid now, spotted this on one of my molars a few weeks ago. but i did have a dentist appointment 2 days ago for a clean and they didn’t mention it.

Now that I do have a problem, my dentist ignored it-!! I’m afraid to even ask because my 2nd appointment for this root canal left me convinced she doesn’t want to cap it- she was trying to break it and left me with a jagged edge where there really didn’t need to be and drilling done.

this makes me feel better

I was told that cavities stick to dental instruments. Was the dark spot sticky before you drilled the hole into it?

Need help ...for my gum bleeding .....what are the things I need to take care

Yaa it's really true💯.....😭 lots of pain while treatment .....sir can u also tell how to clean the teeth near the dental crown which is placed...after the root canal treatment

He's actually really good. Alot of dentist leave some of the decay behind in order to increase their profit.. but he gets rid of all of it 👏

I was at dentist yeaterday she has removed the silver filling and unasked if can have a look at it before she will place the filling in. There was a black 2 spots left both about 4mm diameter. She said it is not a decay but stain and she just placed the filling over the back spots saying she would have to remove to much tooth structure in order to remove all, as she stated, discoloration. I also have a lot of black spots on both wisdom and she sais it's not a decay, well why not to remove the black spots then:( many dentist act freaking hazardous and sometimes makes me wonder how did they become doctors that even patients know better, i would be happy if they were mkre considerate and brave enough to question more some controversy out there insted just being mechanical at a lot what they do. I guess hard in them

I have a dark spot on the side of my tooth is it basically the same thing?

I have a question doctor is there colored cements to match the patient teeth color or it’s just bright white?