Have you ever experienced a sharp pain shooting through your teeth when you eat or drink something hot or cold? If you haven’t experienced this, consider yourself lucky because having sensitive teeth is not fun at all. But if you are a sufferer, here are some common causes and treatments to help you deal with tooth sensitivity.
About Sensitive Teeth
Sensitive teeth is a fairly common, affecting as many as one in eight of the adult population. Tooth sensitivity is most common in people between the ages of 20 to 40, but it can affect children and the elderly. Women tend to suffer from sensitive teeth more often than men do.
Why Some People Suffer from Sensitive Teeth
The most common cause for sensitive teeth is an issue with the tooth enamel. To learn more about the anatomy of a tooth, check out our Understanding the Anatomy of Teeth post, but in a nutshell there’s a protective covering on the visible part of your teeth called enamel. Teeth can become sensitive if the enamel is cracked, worn, chipped, or if the root of a tooth is exposed.
Enamel can crack if you get hit in the mouth with something hard or smack your teeth together. Holes can wear into tooth enamel because of overly aggressive brushing, teeth grinding or enamel erosion caused by poor dental hygiene.
Treating Sensitive Teeth
Avoidance is the fastest and easiest way to deal with sensitive teeth. By simply avoiding the things that cause the painful reaction you can avoid the pain of sensitive teeth, too.
There are numerous products that you’ll find at the pharmacy or drugstore that can help alieve the pain of sensitive teeth. Most of the popular brands have a special toothpaste for sensitive teeth, so start by trying one of these when brushing your teeth. Be sure to read the directions for these products carefully because many of these toothpastes can be rub directly on the affected areas to further help ease sensitivity.
Longer term, you should make an appointment with your family dentist, especially if the sensitivity lingers. Your dentist will do a full assessment and determine the cause of the sensitivity, and advise on the best way to deal with it. They might suggest using some different fluoride gels, rinses or varnishes to help build up the tooth, or they might suggest a filling.
Preventing Sensitive Teeth
Good oral hygiene is the best approach to preventing sensitive teeth. Make sure you brush properly, use a good toothbrush, and brush and floss at least twice per day.
Make sure you take care to protect your teeth. If you play sports wear a properly fitted mouth guard to protect your teeth from smacking together. Be careful not to eat a lot of hard food that can chip or crack your enamel, food such as candy and nuts.
Lastly, make sure that you see your family dentist on a regular basis. You dentist will make sure that your mouth is healthy and keep your smile beautiful, and they can detect and prevent issues like tooth sensitivity before they become painful problems.
If you’re dealing with sensitive teeth or looking for a family dentist in Milton or Scarborough, Orion Dental is for you! Our clinics offer a full range of dental services for the whole family and convenient evening and weekend office hours. Call our Milton dental office at (905) 636 – 9770 or our Scarborough dental office at (416) 291 – 0306 to book an appointment!
