Tooth Sensitivity Bothering You? Use These Techniques to Stop It

If you refrain from having hot or cold beverages because you realize they cause pain and make your teeth hurt, it may be time for you to discuss the problem with your dentist to determine whether you have sensitive teeth. You can visit the dental clinic in Wenatchee significantly if sweet-and-sour foods or chill air also aggravates the sensitivity. If you want to understand how to stop the pangs, you find help by understanding the reasons behind them. After your dentist has determined the precise reasons for the sensitivity finding a solution to the problem is not challenging.

Techniques to Stop Tooth Sensitivity

Caring for Your Tooth Enamel

Tooth enamel is the hard protective outer surface of your teeth, helping you chew foods and use your teeth for any purpose you desire. Your tooth enamel is strong but is not indestructible. When your tooth enamel is damaged, the nerve endings causing the pain are exposed. For example, if you have a tooth sensitive to cold, it indicates your tooth enamel has worn away. You can prevent the damage from aggravating by using the following steps.

• Don’t Brush Aggressively: If you are cleaning your teeth aggressively, you might be removing more than just plaque. Your enamel wears faster if you use a side-to-side brushing motion near the gum line. Instead, you must use a soft bristle toothbrush working at a 45-degree angle to your gums to maintain the enamel clean and strong.
• Refrain from Having Acidic Foods and Beverages: Sticky candy, soda, and high sugar carbohydrates are detrimental to your tooth enamel. Refrain from having them choosing fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, plain yogurt, milk, and cheese. These foods moisten your mouth, helping you fight acids and bacteria eroding your teeth enamel. Your mouth saliva also deals with the acids similarly. You can have green or black tea or consider chewing sugar-free gum. If you happen to have any acidic foods, don’t brush your teeth right away but wait for an hour for your enamel to strengthen before scrubbing.
• Get treatment for bruxism if you are clenching and grinding your teeth when sleeping or even awake. You can address the problem by identifying stress triggers to prevent clenching and grinding. However, if it doesn’t work, your dentist can fit you with a customized nightguard, recommend dental work to change your teeth’s position, or recommend muscle relaxants for help.
• Avoid Teeth Whitening Treatments: Teeth whitening treatments are also a cause for tooth sensitivity. However, the discomfort is usually temporary, and dentists providing the whitening recommend tooth sensitivity treatment soon after completing the procedure.

Getting to the Root Cause of the Problem

Tooth sensitivity doesn’t result merely from weakened enamel, teeth grinding, or whitening treatments. Other reasons for tooth sensitivity include the following:

• If you don’t maintain appropriate dental hygiene routines brushing and flossing your teeth as recommended by your dentist, you allow plaque and tartar buildup to accumulate on your teeth. The two are leading causes of gum disease, which can destroy the bone supporting your teeth and even cause tooth loss if left untreated. Visiting your dentist for regular cleanings and exams allows the professional to observe your condition and provide treatments like scaling and root planing to scrape away the hardened tartar on your teeth and below the gum line. You may also require antibiotics or surgery to fix the problem.
• If you are over 40, your gums may begin shrinking naturally, and pulling away from your teeth uncover the tooth roots. Unfortunately, your tooth roots don’t have protection from tooth enamel, making them more sensitive than other parts of the tooth.
• If you have a cracked tooth or a filling extending all the way to the tooth root, you experience sensitivity when your tooth is cold. Your dentist can determine how to fix it depending on the severity of your specific situation. For example, tiny cracks are filled comfortably, but the dentist may recommend tooth extraction if it extends below your gum line.

Treatment for Sensitive Teeth

After you get to the root of the problem, you can work with your dentist to ease the pain you experience. The treatments for sensitive teeth include toothpaste, fluoride gel, fillings to cover exposed roots, dental sealants, desensitizing pastes, and night guards if affected by bruxism.

If you are affected by severe sensitivity, the dentist might recommend root canal treatments to eradicate an infection inside your tooth.

Experiencing tooth sensitivity shouldn’t hold you back from maintaining excellent dental hygiene. You must continue brushing twice a day, flossing at least once to keep your smile bright and free from sensitivity besides attending six-monthly dental visits for exams and cleanings.