Tooth sensitivity refers to a painful condition in which you may feel a sharp jolt in your tooth while eating or drinking. This pain might fade quickly once food or drink no longer touches the tooth. But the discomfort can be horrible enough to affect your daily life.
Sometimes tooth sensitivity can be temporary, such as when you receive a new dental filling or undergo teeth whitening treatment. But in most cases, sensitive teeth develop due to serious damage to a tooth’s structure that will require treatment from a dentist to fix.
If your teeth feel sensitive, do not delay scheduling a dental evaluation to diagnose and treat this symptom. You may feel more at ease when you know more about the importance of urgent dental treatment for sensitivity. Learn details about where tooth sensitivity comes from and how to treat this oral discomfort when you read on.
What Causes Tooth Sensitivity?
You might realize that tooth sensitivity involves an external trigger, such as food. The pain occurs when the stimulus touches an exposed nerve in a tooth. A healthy dental patient has strong enamel, an outer shell over the tooth that covers nerves in your tooth’s interior.
Your teeth might become sensitive when the enamel sustains some type of damage that makes it thinner or weaker. Then these nerves become exposed and vulnerable to stimulation that will generate pain signals. Enamel damage can develop in many ways, including:
- Acidic diet: lingering acid from the foods and beverages you consume will erode your tooth enamel over time.
- Skipped oral hygiene: if you do not brush your teeth or floss properly, plaque and oral bacteria will stick to your smile and eat away at your dental structure.
- Harsh teeth brushing: brushing your teeth too hard or with firm-bristled brushes can irritate the enamel and cause sensitivity pain.
- Underlying medical problems: certain conditions like acid reflux will introduce stomach acid to the mouth that can hurt your teeth.
- Teeth grinding: excess pressure from clenching or grinding your teeth can wear down the enamel and reveal underlying nerves.
- Tooth injury: a crack or chip in your tooth will create a vulnerable spot in your dental structure that can leave you in pain.
How Can I Find Relief from Tooth Sensitivity Pain?
While you can take steps to prevent tooth sensitivity, it is sometimes unavoidable. If you feel tooth sensitivity pain, you will want to talk to a dentist to alleviate it. Treatment for sensitive teeth will depend on its cause, but your dentist might recommend:
- Desensitizing toothpaste: this oral hygiene product contains ingredients that block exposed nerves from transmitting pain signals when stimulated.
- Dental filling: if a cavity causes your tooth sensitivity, a dentist will remove the decay and fill the resulting hole with composite resin to restore the tooth’s structure and stop tooth sensitivity.
- Porcelain veneers: cosmetic dental veneers will cover weakened enamel on the front of a tooth, relieving tooth sensitivity while also enhancing the smile’s appearance.
- Dental crowns: the dentist can replace damaged enamel by covering the tooth with a ceramic cap that will shield exposed nerves to stop pain and restore aesthetics, function, and health to the tooth.