Have you ever experienced the sharp shooting sudden pain while enjoying your favourite ice cream? This kind of pain that lasts just for a moment is because of sensitive teeth
Let us first understand why sometimes teeth are so sensitive to cold water or ice cream or sometimes even to sour and sweet food. Deep dive Sensitive Teeth Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Options.
The core of the tooth or the pulp of the tooth consist of lots of nerves & vessels that maintain the vitality of tooth. These nerve endings help in transmitting the sensations towards the brain. This pulp is protected by a thick layer of dentin which is relatively harder structure that forms the bulk of tooth. This dentin is covered by the hardest structure known as enamel.
The sensitivity is mainly when the temperature stimulus or other stimuli reach the nerve endings in the pulp of tooth.
Now let us check out when these stimuli can reach the pulp to induce sensitivity.
1. Worn out Enamel
A) Attrition
Excessive biting forces or night grinding can lead to the flattening of teeth. The enamel of the upper third of teeth gets attrited, exposing the dentin & / or pulp leading to sensitivity.
B) Erosion
Excessive intake of acidic beverages or long-standing Acid Regergitation ( acidity ) can lead to weak enamel.
C) Abrassion
Heavy horizontal brushing can cause specific notch like Abrassion of outer surface on teeth. This can expose the dentin which can cause sensitivity.
2) Loss of enamel due to decay/Cavity.
When there is decay , the bacterial action causes deminaralization of hard enamel & also dentin. In such cases, stimuli can easily reach nerves and patient experience sensitivity.
3) Exposed Root surface/ gum recession.
Use of hard brush or long standing tartar & plaque can lead to exposure of tooth surfaces of teeth. This exposed root surface can easily transmit the stimuli to pulp , resulting in sensitivity.
How to check if you have sensitivity what are the symptoms of sensitivity?
- Sharp shooting momentory pain on having cold food stuff or cold water.
- Sharp pain that lasts for short time while blowing air.
- Momentory pain experienced during drinking acidic beverages or while eating sour food stuff.
If you are experiencing any of above mentioned symptoms you need to consult your dentist to check the cause of sensitivity and get the appropriate treatment done .
How to treat teeth sensitivity?
The treatment of sensitivity varies depending on cause of sensitivity
1. If the sensitivity is because of the thin enamel or eroded enamel the sensitivity toothpaste is recommended.
2. If the sensitivity is because of attrited enamel the treatment of restoring the loss of tooth structure needs to be performed by dentist which may include a composite restoration or a root canal treatment and / or crown depending on the extent of loss of tooth structure.
3. The decay need to be removed and restored if that is the cause of sensitivity.
4. If recession of gums leads to exposed root is cause of sensitivity, the periodontist ( gum specialist) can guide you about the required gum treatment indicated for your gum recession.
That’s all for now regarding sensitivity of teeth. If you have any further concerns, feel free to contact us and get the customized consultation & treatment by our specialist at ” Microdent Dentistry ®
