Sensitive teeth are a frequent issue that affects our capacity to consume, sip, or even inhale cold air and can be quite uncomfortable. This is a sharp and sudden feeling that patients experience when they consume specific foods like hot, cold, sweet, or acidic ones, resulting in discomfort. This condition is often called dentin hypersensitivity and is defined by the dentin being exposed due to weakened enamel on the teeth.
Many ways can effectively assist in treating sensitive teeth and offer relief. In this blog, we will focus on exploring the reasons behind teeth sensitivity, preventive measures, actions to take, and the efficient treatment options available for this issue. Whether you require an immediate remedy for sensitive teeth or wish to understand how to avoid it in the future, this blog provides thorough information and detailed guidance.
What is teeth sensitivity?
Dentin hypersensitivity is commonly referred to as tooth sensitivity or even root sensitivity and occurs when the dentin layers of your teeth encounter liquids. Unlike dentin, which is below the enamel and has a much harder exterior, the exterior of the enamel has small tubes leading to the tooth pulp. If the enamel layer is eroded, or the gums recede, the root exposed may result in feelings of hot or cold, pressure, or any other food to the nerves in the exposed dentin.
Following is a list of possible reasons behind your sensitive teeth:
Tooth Enamel Erosion:
The food acids from soda, lemons, and wine are acids in food, and these acids dissolve the tooth enamel, and eventually, the tooth becomes sensitive.
Gum Recession:
Gum recession happens when the gum pulls away from the teeth and roots are exposed. This could be from post-gum disease, thick letting down, or even the advancement of age. Enamel is absent in roots, which allows this to occur, as it is the roots that are most likely to be affected.
Tooth Decay or Damage:
Any layer on the teeth may expose them, and at that point, you start feeling sensitivity: this happens along broken teeth, rotten ones, or dental fillings.
Brushing Too Hard:
Brushing with a hard toothbrush and pushing the gums backwards softly erodes the layer of enamel, and the teeth later become sensitive.
Teeth Grinding (Bruxism):
The continuous shifting of teeth—mainly if you are not even awake but doing it—can erode the enamel and subsequently lead to tooth pain.
Teeth Whitening Treatments:
While teeth whitening strips target the enamel of the tooth, they may cause some individuals to become briefly sensitive after usage.
Below we have listed some of the best treatments:
Toothpaste for Sensitivity:
The simplest, oldest, and most effective way is to use a toothpaste designed specifically for sensitive teeth. Toothpaste that contains these compounds blocks the signals of pain from reaching the nerve from the tooth’s surface. Continuous expenditure will leave sensitivity all but eroded. At Arun Care Dental Clinic, we can recommend the ideal toothpaste for your condition.
Fluoride treatments:
Fluoride is a substance that occurs naturally in enamel and helps to prevent the formation of decay as well as mitigate sensitivity.
Dental Sealants:
A dental sealant can be covered over exposed areas to protect against further damage on exposed dentin. Sealants are thin, protective coatings applied to places with erosion or recession on teeth to protect against external stimuli.
Gum Grafting Surgery:
A few patients may have to undergo a gum grafting procedure in case of having sluggish gums. This is a surgical procedure in which tissue is extracted from elsewhere in the mouth and stitched to the area of the receded gum line so that it can cover exposed roots. Gum grafting also protects the root from further decay and damage and reduces sensitivity.
Root Canal Therapy:
Sometimes tooth sensitivity is so severe because nerve damage or deep decay has taken place in the tooth that a root canal is recommended. The inflamed, but not infected, nerve tissue is removed, and the tooth is sealed to prevent further infection and any spread of infection to other glands. Root canals remove the source of pain to eliminate sensitivity.
Mouthguards for Teeth Grinding:
If you cannot prevent grinding your teeth at nighttime as well, Arun Dental Care could come up with a unique mouth guard to lessen the risk of transferring their enamel erosion and defend the dentition bracket shape. Mouthguards help preserve the teeth as they also decrease sensitivity as well as protect from the wearing of teeth due to grinding.
Natural Remedies to Reverse Tooth Sensitivity in Addition to Professional Treatments
- Toothbrush: Using a soft-bristle toothbrush, one should brush his/her teeth starting from left to right at a 45-degree angle towards the gum to make sure your enamel and gum are not damaged while brushing. Also, brush gently.
- Avoid acidic foods and beverages: Soda, oranges (or any citrus fruit), and vinegar are very acidic foods that can remove our teeth by penetrating through the outer layer of our dental enamel.
- Practice Good Oral Hygiene—You should brush your teeth in the morning (after waking up) and at night (before going to sleep) and floss at least once over a 24-hour period to avoid the potential perils of gum disease, cavities, and enamel loss that leads to sensitivity of the teeth.
- Use a Fluoride Mouthwash: One more method that you could try to improve your enamel further and help protect against the sensitivity of the teeth is to take advantage of a rinse with fluoride (make certain it’s an over-the-counter one).
- Refrain From Overdosing on Whitening: Once you feel some kind of difference after a whitening treatment, stay away from those for some time or just use a product that contains fewer per cent of whiteners.
Prevention of Future Tooth Sensitivity
Good oral care habits prevent tooth sensitivity. Being sensitive around teeth is a big sign that something is wrong. If anything hurts your teeth, or if you have pain when you fall asleep, visit your dentist at Arun Care Dental Clinic in Villivakkam and have that monitored. You can protect your teeth and gums from damage by practising gentle brushing, using fluoride products, and avoiding acidic foods. You can also change your stomach to your mouth if you feel sensitive signs like being uncomfortable while eating or drinking; it is really important to start with professionals; else the signs will get worse.
Why Professional Dental Care Is Important for Managing Sensitivity?
Home remedies and some over-the-counter products may help with tooth sensitivity, but they will never cure sensitivity or prevent it from returning. Arun Care Dental Clinic, at Villivakkam, has skilled dentists who offer dedicated solutions to the underlying causes of sensitivity and also provide treatments beyond mere basic care. Through regular checkups, we can recognize early signs of enamel erosion, gum recession, or tooth decay that can fundamentally lead to sensitivity. By tackling those issues head-on, we can prevent them from worsening and later keep more advanced procedures from becoming necessary.
Over-the-counter treatments will hopefully work, but professional treatment (such as fluoride applications, sealants, and desensitizing therapies) tends to be more effective. Sealants are protective layers for a particular area, whereas fluoride helps remineralize and strengthen the enamel. In case your sensitivity comes from more severe problems like gum disease or tooth decay, our dental team will create a particular treatment plan.
Maintaining good oral health and preventing sensitive teeth from returning and continuing is important, and you simply need to have regular professional cleanings and instructions from your dentist to ensure you don’t have sensitive teeth. By using dental treatments together with an excellent oral hygiene routine at home, you can achieve long-term results for tooth sensitivity.
Conclusion
Tooth sensitivity can be a frustrating and painful condition, but by investing in your oral hygiene, it is avoidable. Our goal at Arun Care Dental Clinic in Villivakkam is to assist our patients in eliminating their sensitivity to teeth in customized treatment plans and providing advice.
We recommend desensitizing toothpaste, fluoride treatments, or root canal therapy in more severe situations, all to help you have a healthy, pain-free smile. We understand that not everyone can tolerate sensitive teeth, and if that’s you, then don’t hesitate and come in and get started on finding a new way of life that doesn’t feature sensitive teeth.