What is teeth sensitivity?
Do you feel some sort of shock or discomfort when you eat fruits, drink cold or hot water or even breathe through your mouth? If yes, then you may be suffering from teeth sensitivity. Teeth sensitivity is that tingly feeling or discomfort you get when you eat certain types of foods, it often feels like a shock. This may be a temporary or long-term problem as it can be caused by different reasons in different people.
What causes teeth sensitivity
Teeth sensitivity can be very discomforting, it makes you scared of eating as you are unsure of how the next thing that will make your teeth shock. For some people, it’s the front teeth, when they bite into things, for some others it’s either on the left or right part but it’s worse when it’s the entire teeth. This sensitivity can be caused by unhealthy nerves, overreacting to everything you eat or unhealthy teeth and it could be both sometimes.
A tooth has several structures, the enamel, dentin and nerves. The enamel is a protective covering that shields your teeth from the wear and tear of daily usage and protects the teeth from potentially harmful temperatures, chemicals and bacteria.
Teeth often become sensitive and easily feel stimuli when the enamel washes off. So, it’s the exposed dentin that sends the shock to the nerves giving you that cringy feel in your teeth.
Several things can cause the enamel to wear off and cause the teeth to become sensitive.
- Using a hard toothbrush, what they often call smokers brush.
- Brushing with force or too hard with a soft, hard or medium bristle toothbrush. This causes the gum line to recede making it easy for bacteria to build up.
- Regularly eating acidic foods, especially at night and not giving your teeth proper care before sleeping.
- Grinding your teeth often. This causes the enamel to wear off.
How to manage teeth sensitivity
- Teeth sensitivity is a dental issue even though we hardly want to accept that fact. Most times, if it’s not a toothache or cavity or some other serious dental issue we never go to the dentist. If you currently have tooth sensitivity, whether a chronic one or one that happens at close intervals, please book an appointment with your dentist.
- There are several kinds of desensitizing toothpaste that can help your sensitivity. They must contain potassium nitrate and fluoride. Fluoride makes the teeth strong and resistant to decay and potassium on the other hand keeps the nerves calm and reduces any sensory activity.
- Change your toothbrush, use a toothbrush with soft bristles and make sure to replace it regularly, between 2-3 months.
- Reduce the consumption of sugary and acidic foods such as soda, carbonated drinks, wine, citrus fruits etc. overly consuming these substances can wear off the enamel over time. Fruits and vegetables are important to your diet and daily nutritional requirement so it may be almost impossible to avoid acidic fruits. It is recommended that when you consume acidic fruits, you should immediately rinse your mouth with water or take some yoghurt to balance the acid level in the mouth.
- If you are a teeth grinder, you may be required to wear a mouth guard as recommended by dentists. Regular grinding damages the teeth over time, causing cracks to form in the enamel and give room for teeth sensitivity and other damages.
- Using mouthwashes, most of these products also contains fluoride and potassium nitrate, it soothes the nerve endings and protects the enamel. get mouthwash and use it regularly alongside good toothpaste.
Takeaway
If you have teeth sensitivity, it’s best to handle it as soon as possible because if not properly handled it will get worse and cause more complications and damage to the teeth. Start by changing your toothpaste and toothbrush, dentists recommend Sensodyne toothpaste for teeth sensitivity. You can find Sensodyne in any supermarket near you. Also, seek a more medical approach to teeth sensitivity if these home remedies do not help. You know It feels good to be able to eat whatever you want whenever you want and enjoy it without your nerves making a big deal about everything you eat.