You might not realize it immediately, and neither might your
Santa Clarita dentist, but sometimes our teeth get sensitive. Have you ever
felt a sharp sensation whenever you drink something cool or hot, and your teeth
tend to hurt? Well, that could be because you have sensitive teeth, and if you
have experienced this, you typically have that. Many times, people will suffer
from tooth sensitivity and not even know why. However, it’s important to know
about what causes tooth sensitive, and what you can do to help rectify it as
best as you can.
Now, if you’ve ever had your teeth professionally whitened,
or you’ve done it yourself, you probably have felt some sensitivity after that.
It is common to experience that, but the sensitivity that you feel after you
get your teeth whitened is markedly different from the hypersensitivity that
you might feel in your dentin. Typically, this sensitivity is because when you
whiten, they use a bleaching mechanism that can help penetrate the tooth.
Now, what really causes tooth sensitivity is typically a
common dental issue. This happens over time because of receding gums or the
enamel breaking down. The sensitivity as well will start to develop when the
dentin is exposed. The dentin is typically under the gums and enamel, and there
are many nerves that run through this. When you drink something with the dentin
exposed, it stimulates the nerves, and you’ll immediately feel a sharp pain in
your teeth. If you have this, you might have enamel wear from grinding your
teeth, brushing too much, acid erosion, or gum recession from gum disease or
brushing your teeth too much.
Now, if you do have this, the first thing that you should do
is go see your dentist. They will help you and do a dental
exam to see what is going on. They can from here determine the cause of the
sensitivity and give you some treatment options to help get rid of it. Now, if
the office is busy and you can’t go in right away, there are a few things that
you can do, and a few things you should do anyways.
The first thing that you should do is use a sensitive tooth
toothpaste. These contain something called potassium nitrate, and this will
block the tubules in the dentin that stimulate this pain. You should also try
to change out your toothbrush as well to one with softer bristles. Often,
people don’t realize that they’re brushing their teeth super vigorously, or
they believe that you have to in order to clean them. Doing this in slow
motions will get the job completed and help prevent further enamel and gum
erosion.
You should start to avoid foods that are super acidic, since
that will break down the enamel further. Foods that do this are soda, wine that
is red, pickles, and oranges. Typically, if the food is extremely acidic, avoid
it right now, and this will prevent the enamel from being attacked. If you’re
already experiencing the sensitivity, just avoid these. If not, and you’re
worried there might be cause for alarm, you should try to minimize the exposure
of this as well.
Finally, if you think you’re grinding your teeth at night,
you should wear a mouth guard. Grinding your teeth tends to break down the
enamel, and this is often how tooth sensitivity happens. The mouth guards that
you can put in at night will help to prevent this, and it will help to prevent
more enamel erosion.
If you’re still having trouble after this, you should go see
the dentist to help find the exact cause. There are many different ways to
treat sensitivity that can help with this situation. Typically, you can get an
agent to help with this. While it does need to be reapplied, this can often help
when treating your teeth for the exact cause of the situation, and from there
it’ll help you prevent further problems.
Tooth sensitivity isn’t fun, but often knowing why and the
best ways to treat it will help make it much easier on you, and make it more tolerable.
