Tooth sensitivity happens as a result of enamel damage, therefore exposing the softer tissues of the tooth. These in turn carry the food’s temperature to the inside of your tooth. How does this happen? Here’s everything you need to know about sensitive teeth and tooth nerve pain.

It’s All about the Dentin

Sensitive teeth occur because the dentin—a softer layer of tissue below your enamel—is exposed. This means your enamel has been worn away in that area, leaving the dentin to be exposed to foods, drinks, and air that enters your mouth.

Dentin is an important element of our teeth. It contains tiny channels that carry the temperature of the tooth to the nerves that lay inside the tooth. These nerves are also known as the tooth’s pulp. Normally the dentin would not be exposed—so it wouldn’t carry the temperature to your tooth pulp. However, once it is exposed, you can’t just turn off the microscopic tubes that carry temperature to your inner tooth. Dentin is the link that connects your tooth sensitivity to temperature to the nerve inside the tooth, which in turn triggers pain.

How Roots Become Exposed

There are a number of ways that your tooth’s dentin and roots become exposed. Often, people who have sensitive teeth experience a combination of factors that lead to their tooth pain. Your tooth’s root is protected by enamel, but can become exposed when enamel gets worn away. Enamel is the hardest substance in the body, but unfortunately, the body does not replace it once it’s gone. Enamel erosion can happen from:

 Cavities

 Loose fillings

 Hard brushing

 Abuse of over-the- counter tooth whitening products

 Brushing your teeth too aggressively

 Bruxism (teeth grinding)

 Gum disease

These are just a few of the items that can damage your enamel. You could also have a fractured tooth or gum recession, which can expose dentin and tooth roots.

What Can You Do?

Simply switching to a toothbrush with softer bristles and desensitizing toothpaste can help many people control their tooth sensitivity and avoid further enamel erosion. If you have severe tooth sensitivity, you may need additional treatment to help manage your pain. This includes getting treatment for bruxism if you grind your teeth, or you may have a cavity that needs to get filled, or a fractured tooth that needs repairing. Your treatment will be unique based on what’s causing your tooth sensitivity. Your dentist can help you discover what the problem is and how to treat it.

Don’t live with tooth nerve pain! Although replacing enamel is impossible, your problem may be gum recession or a simple cavity that can be fixed. Seeing your dentist can help address your tooth pain and find out where it’s coming from. Remember to always protect your enamel with gentle brushing, avoiding acidic foods like sugar, and visiting your dentist!

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Enamel, the hardest substance in the body, covers the crowns of teeth while cementum, a bony material that helps attach teeth to the supporting bone, covers the root. When protective enamel or cementum covering the dentin is lost due to tooth decay, over-brushing or periodontal disease, your dentin will become exposed. As a result, microscopic tubules present in dentin conduct thermal stimuli from the exposed surface into the pulp, triggering a painful response.

Enamel is most commonly affected by caries and cementum by aggressive brushing, made worse if combined with constant exposure to very acidic foods or drinks. Proper oral hygiene is an important step in reducing the chance of developing hypersensitivity. If teeth are brushed too aggressively, brushed with a hard brush or brushed with unpolished bristle tips, recession of protective gum tissue may be caused.

Periodontal disease, or gum disease, is also a leading cause of hypersensitivity. When gums and bone that support the teeth are affected, bacteria growth can live in untreated areas between the teeth and gums and aid in recession. Regular dental checkups are vital in identifying and treating these problems before they become serious.

Sensitive teeth can be successfully treated by use of over-the-counter desensitizing toothpastes, but improvement is typically gradual and can take as long as 6 weeks to show changes. In some cases, eliminating highly acidic foods or drinks in your diet may greatly reduce the problem. Exposure to foods or drinks that have a particularly low pH should be reduced or eliminated, especially if imbibed between meals. Adding lemon to beverages, wine (especially white), apples, grapefruits, pineapples, athletic drinks and soft drinks can be especially detrimental.

If using desensitizing toothpaste or eliminating acidic foods and drinks does not work, application of a fluoride-containing gel may be an option. This may be done by a dentist, however take-home versions may also be prescribed. Always follow suggested precautions as swallowing products high in fluoride are hazardous. Depending on your individual needs, dentists may also recommend a gum graft, filling, crown or in rare cases endodontic treatment (root canal).

Teeth sensitivity is a highly unpleasant experience, but it does not have to be permanent. With minimal effort, relief can be found by a small change in habits or seeking assistance from a professional who can help.

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This is a pain around the tooth, inside the tooth or along the nerves.

Potential Causes of Toothaches

There are many things that can cause a toothache, and variables such had dietary habits, trauma and adherence to regular dental care and oral health can all play a part in causing tooth decay, damage and/or pain. Some might be simple in nature and only require a warm compress on the side of the mouth to feel better. There are other reasons which can be more severe and that need to be examined by a dentist in order to be correctly diagnosed and fixed before the condition gets worse.

Tooth decay is the most common reason for a toothache. This is when bacteria sits on the tooth, eating away at the enamel. It can be on any area of the tooth. Left untreated, it will form a cavity that will need to be filled. If the cavity does not get treated, this can increase tooth sensitivity and you might experience pain when eating hot or cold foods if the nerves are exposed. An abscessed tooth is one that has an infection. It is important to get antibiotics for this because the infection can damage the tooth further if left untreated. The infection can also get in the bloodstream, leading to other health concerns.

A fracture on the tooth can cause a severe amount of pain. There are times when you can fracture a tooth and not know about it because there isn’t any pain, or the fracture may not be visible to the naked eye or perhaps you do not immediate feel any pain when the nerve is not exposed.  The pain accompanying a tooth fracture can often be sharp, intense and occur during the act of biting or with release of biting pressure. However, if a tooth is knocked out from falling or being hit, as this could result in direct exposure and damage to the tooth nerves, there is a high probability that you will be in pain until the tooth is repaired or replaced.

If a filling comes out of the tooth or it is damaged, you might have pain in that area. While at the dental office, the dentist removes the decayed part of the tooth in order to get rid of the cavity before the tooth is filled. If that filling gets damaged or comes out, the area of the tooth near the roots and nerves can be exposed, increasingly the likelihood of pain an discomfort. You’ll need to go see your dentist to get the filling repaired as soon as possible.

[media-credit name=”bill wells” align=”alignleft” width=”350″][/media-credit]Grinding ones teeth can also lead to pain. The wearing down of teeth can lead to an uneven bite, exposure of more of the tooth and other damage that can lead to discomfort and pain. This can be prevented by wearing a mouth guard at night. Other causes of tooth pain include chewing on the same side of the mouth, chewing gum on a regular basis and other repetitive motions dealing with the mouth and teeth.

The diagnosis of toothache can be challenging, and only from an examination from your dentist can the source of a toothache be identified down to a specific tooth, teeth, or a non-dental cause.

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