Causes and Prevention of Sensitive Teeth
You have sensitive teeth when you are having some series of
discomfort and pain in your teeth while eating hot or cold food. It might
prolong for hours in severe cases. It might mean early sign of a dental problem
sometimes. It can affect anybody irrespective of age but it is more seen in
adolescent and aged. You feel the
sensitivity while eating or drinking cold food or drink. Sometimes it is while
eating acidic food or hot food. It can happen while catching cold air into the
teeth.
What can cause sensitive teeth?
Tooth sensitivity occurs when enamel, the protective tooth
layer is destroyed and dentine underneath is exposed. Dentine is made up of
tiny tubules filled with fluid and it leads to nerve. The nerve ending in the
dentine get irritated by the presence of hot and cold food or drink and thus become
sensitive. At extreme tooth temperature, the fluid movement is affected and
thus causes the nerve endings to response. This results in short and sharp pain
felt in a sensitive tooth.
Rough handling of teeth while brushing especially with hard
bristle brush also destroys the enamel. It can also cause the gum to wear down thereby
exposing the root of the tooth and thus a sensitive tooth.
Sometimes, tooth sensitivity can occur naturally as the gum
shrink and the root of teeth is the exposed.
The root of the teeth is more sensitive because it does not have enamel
layer covering or protecting it.
Taking acidic food or drink can result in dental erosion. Acid
in the food attacks the enamel and dentine is then exposed leading to sensitive
teeth
People with cracked or broken tooth may experience a sensitive
tooth especially when the crack as run down the tooth length to the dentine. They
get teeth discomfort at extreme temperature especially when drinking cold
drink.
Plaque or tartar build up can result in gum receding down
and thus exposing the root of the teeth. Tartar can destroy the tooth bony
structure and result in sensitive teeth and even gum disease.
The bad habit of grinding teeth together or clenching them
can cause the teeth enamel to wear away and thus result in sensitive teeth.
Some people experience sensitive teeth for a short period after
bleaching their teeth. You can see your dentist before embarking on treatment.
Prevention of Sensitive Tooth
The use of toothpaste that is specially prepared for
sensitive teeth can go a long way to prevent sensitive teeth. They desensitize the
nerves in the tooth and thus offer tingle and pain relief while taking hot and
cold food or drink. Although, toothpaste might not work real fast, it involves a
lot of consistency in use.
Choose a toothbrush
with soft bristle and brush in a circular movement. Avoid side to side brushing
of teeth. Change your toothbrush every
2-3months or even before that as soon as they become worn out.
Brush your teeth before sleeping at night and some other
time at least, twice daily. Try not to brush immediately after eating, you can
brush after an hour. This is mainly because some foods and drinks can soften
the tooth enamel and brushing them immediately will result in wearing away the
enamel.
Reduce the intake of very cold, hot, sugary and acidic food. In case you use
cold water to brush your mouth, you can change it to warm water in order not to
worsen tooth sensitivity
In case you what to
do teeth bleaching, talk about sensitive teeth with your dentist before
bleaching it.
See your dentist for advice on mouth grinding if u do. You might
be given a mouthguard made to wear at night. click here to read more on the tips and home remedy for sensitive teeth.
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