Does eating hot or cold foods trigger severe pain? You probably suffer from sensitive teeth.
With delight and anticipation, you take the first sip of your morning coffee, and it’s hot, just the way you like it. As the delicious liquid fills your mouth, the soothing feeling you expect is not there: your teeth suddenly hurt like crazy. The pain passes quickly, but the same thing happens every time you eat an ice cream cone or drink fresh fruit juice: you are suffering from dental sensitivity.
Don’t panic, a thorough oral examination will determine the causes of this hypersensitivity and allow you to consider the most appropriate solutions. At the Centre Dentaire & D’Implantologie Boucherville, your dentists Dr. Lachapelle, Dr. Dagenais and Dr. Le will advise you and take all the necessary measures to understand your situation and prevent you from experiencing this painful discomfort. Do not hesitate to schedule an appointment today with your Boucherville dental centre.
What causes sensitive teeth?
Sensitive teeth cause an intermittent and often sharp pain in all teeth. The causes may include:
– Thermal actions: the most common cause is excessive sensitivity to cold or heat during the consumption of food such as ice cream and hot drinks;
– Mechanical actions: these occur when contact is made with an object, such as a toothbrush or a fork;
– Chemical actions: in the case of absorption of overly sweet or acidic foods, for example.
The three tissues in the tooth are the pulp, the dentine and the enamel that covers and protects everything. When the thin, hard enamel wears away or disappears, the softer dentine underneath is no longer protected, and the thousands of microscopic channels running through the nerves are exposed. The immediate result is a sharp pain! An altered gum will lead to the same result, again due to the exposed dentine.
There are many factors that cause excessively sensitive teeth and keep them that way. Over time, your tooth enamel wears away. If you grind your teeth in your sleep, this wear is amplified. Your diet is too acidic or too sweet. You suffer, perhaps even unknowingly, from a gum disease. You brush your teeth too vigorously and your brush is too hard and aggressive; the list of causes is long.
It’s a common problem, but don’t take it too lightly
Tooth sensitivity is considered common. As everyone suffers from it to a greater or lesser extent, this problem, however annoying, is most of the time underestimated and neglected until it becomes unbearable. Nature makes no mistakes – pain is not useless, and it is there to alert us to an underlying problem. Again, the earlier the cause is detected, the easier it will be to solve the problem.
If you suffer from dental hypersensitivity, dentists are your best friends. They will give you sound advice: on your eating habits, on gentle teeth brushing, on the possible use of a simple dental device (to prevent you from grinding your teeth and causing premature wear). They will know how to treat possible gum disease or to restore the enamel on your teeth. The solutions are as numerous as the possible causes.
Your teeth deserve the help of talented people
Sensitive teeth are common and often dismissed, but the problem should not to be taken lightly. Although it is often due to benign causes, it can occur as a result of more serious problems. It’s important to consult your dentist as soon as possible in order to determine the probable causes and to find a solution.
Your comfort and oral health are the priority of our practitioners at the Centre Dentaire & D’Implantologie Boucherville. Our team of experienced dentists will listen to you and provide you with advice and care in order to gently eliminate your dental hypersensitivity. Thanks to their treatments, you’ll be able to enjoy all of life’s little pleasures again, such as a hot cup of coffee or a cold drink in complete serenity!