How to Deal With Tooth Sensitivity

Antone Shores
3 min readOct 18, 2017

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It’s quite an irritation to have sharp pain in the teeth after you take a sip of your favorite drink. This may be due to the hotness or coldness of the drink but the major reason behind it is the sensitivity of your teeth.

There are many reasons for the tooth sensitivity. The common ones are receding gums, tooth decay, teeth whitening, or it can also be genetic problem. Nevertheless, there are some ways you can get relief or even get rid of this dental pain.

Toothpaste for sensitive teeth

This one is the first. The moment you feel painful sensitivity in your teeth, you should bring toothpaste for sensitive teeth. The active ingredient which fights tooth sensitivity is potassium nitrate. Make sure that the toothpaste you are buying contains this ingredient. You can also use a mouth rinse with stannous fluoride to reduce sensitivity more effectively.

Change the toothbrush and brushing habits

Increase in teeth sensitivity is pretty much related to the tooth brush you use and your brushing habits. Therefore, you will need to scrutinize the brushing habits and your selection for the toothbrush. As a general tip, toothbrush with soft bristles should be used. Furthermore, you will have to make sure that you are brushing your teeth gently. Aggressive brushing using toothbrush with hard bristles can result in recession of gums and wearing out of tooth enamel. These are the very factors which can cause teeth sensitivity.

Acidic foods and drinks

Tooth enamel is the first line of defense against tooth sensitivity. So, you should be concerned if this enamel starts to wear out or dissolve. One big factor which can bring disaster for tooth enamel is the acidity present in certain foods and beverages. Now, avoiding such foods altogether might not be possible but the overall consumption can be reduced. Furthermore, you can do some cleaning after the consumption of acidic foods in order to make sure that there are no food remains left attached with the teeth.

Use a mouth guard

Teeth grinding can be either a problem or just a bad habit. If you grind your teeth during day time, you can focus on not doing it. But if you have a problem of grinding teeth during night sleep, you can consider some options to remain safe from the damage it can cause to your teeth. For instance, mouth guard is the perfect solution to keep the teeth of upper and lower jaw from getting in aggressive contact with each other. Mouth guards are specifically made to cushion the teeth.

Sometimes, you may need to look beyond mouth guard if you think that it is not going to help you much. In that case, visit the dentist to find appropriate solution.

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