Sensitive Teeth

Teeth Sensitivity may be caused by various reasons like decay or cavities, fractured teeth, worn out filling, periodontal disease, chipping of tooth, or exposure of pulp to cavities or decay.

 

How can I deal with sensitive teeth? Check with your dentist, the best treatment option for sensitive teeth. Your dentist could suggest various options to deal with sensitivity.

 

One of the most common and easy way to treat sensitive teeth is to use desensitizing toothpaste.  The desensitizing tooth paste contains compounds to foam a layer on your teeth to block transmission of heat or cold, or acidic or sticky substance to transmit to the root, from the tooth surface. When applied regularly desensitizing toothpaste helps to reduce sensitivity of teeth.

 

Your dentist may prescribe fluoride treatment to increase the enamel strength. Stronger enamel will reduce sensitive transmission from tooth surface to the root. Your dentist could also prescribe toothpaste with concentrated fluoride for every day brushing to help maintain and restore health of tooth enamel.

 

Sensitivity caused by decay is treated by fillings or other restorative process like crowns or inlays or bonding. Surgical gum grafting is another process to reduce sensitivity due to recession of gum which often exposes the cementum that protects the root.  Some patients will need root canal treatment if root is exposed due to caries or crack on tooth.

 

In healthy teeth, a layer of enamel protects the crowns of your teeth—the part above the gum line. Under the gum line a layer called cementum protects the tooth root. Underneath both the enamel and the cementum is dentin.  Dentin is less dense than enamel and cementum and contains microscopic tubules (small hollow tubes or canals). When dentin loses its protective covering of enamel or cementum these tubules allow heat and cold or acidic or sticky foods to reach the nerves and cells inside the tooth. Dentin may also be exposed when gums recede. The result can be hypersensitivity.