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!

The post Sensitive Teeth? Learn More About Tooth Nerve Pain appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Keep Teeth Wipes in Stock

Keeping some teeth wipes in stock or with you for on-the-go cleaning can be a great alternative for when you run out of toothpaste. These small wipes are finger gloves that help to clean your teeth and get rid of plaque and food particles with their textured cloth-like feel. Although these are great alternatives to have around, they’re not meant to take the place of a proper brushing—so only use when you need to!

Use Baking Soda

Many conventional toothpastes incorporate baking soda into their formulas. There’s a reason for this! Baking soda is popular to use not just in toothpaste but for other cleaning tasks, too. It’s safe and effective for you to use when you’re missing toothpaste or even a toothbrush. When you run out of toothpaste, everyone usually has some baking soda on hand in the kitchen! Use your toothbrush, a cloth, or your finger and use that baking soda to “brush” your teeth!

Rinse with Mouthwash or Hydrogen Peroxide

If you have regular mouthwash on hand, this is great. Mouthwash can help fight bad bacteria, remove particles in between your teeth, and leave you with fresh breath! However, if you don’t regularly use mouthwash (you should!) or if you happen to be out of that too, you can use hydrogen peroxide to help clean your mouth until you get access to some toothpaste. Don’t use it full strength, and never swallow it. Simply mix equal parts hydrogen peroxide and water and swish around in your mouth to help combat bad bacteria and remove food particles.

Chew Gum or Herbs

Sugar-free gum can help to stimulate your saliva production, therefore helping to balance the good and bad bacteria and even help remove food particles and leave you with a fresh mouth. This definitely isn’t a replacement for brushing and should be used only when necessary—however, it can help in those times when you find that you’re out of toothpaste!

If you happen to be camping or even if you have a garden at your home, you can make use of plants to help “clean” your mouth! Herbs like mint, rosemary, and even sage and thyme can help your mouth to feel fresher and get rid of any bad tastes. These won’t actually clean your teeth, so again, be sure to brush when you can!

Being out of toothpaste isn’t an excuse to skip your normal brushing routine. Enlist the help of some of these alternatives, many of which are easy to have on hand in times of need, such as peroxide and baking soda. Keep teeth wipes, sugar-free gum, or mouthwash on hand for when you don’t have any toothpaste!

The post Oops, You’re Out of Toothpaste! Now What? appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

What Causes Tooth Sensitivity?

First, it’s important to know the factors that influence sensitive teeth. When your enamel wears away, it exposes dentin, a tissue beneath the enamel that protects the roots. It’s not as hard as enamel, but not as soft and exposed as your roots. However, the exposure of dentin can lead to tooth sensitivity. The more worn away your enamel is, the more extreme your tooth pain will be.

The enamel on your teeth can wear away due to brushing too hard (which is actually very damaging to your teeth) or eating too many foods that are acidic or drinking sugary and corrosive drinks (such as alcohol and soda). It could also be influenced by other factors, such as using at-home teeth bleaching kits too often, which strips the enamel away, or tooth decay.

What Your Dentist Can Do

Pain is among one of the many ways that your body communicates. Your extremely sensitive teeth are telling you that something is amiss with your pearly whites. Your dentist can thoroughly examine your teeth and identify any problems. Sometimes, if tooth decay or gum disease has progressed, it can cause your gums to recede or your enamel to wear away due to decay, therefore exposing your dentin and possibly even your tooth’s root. Your dentist can treat the problem, which will be unique to your particular diagnosis. You could need a root canal, a missing filling replaced, or need x-rays to further determine the problem.

What You Can Do

Prevention is the best treatment for extreme tooth sensitivity, so it’s important to remember that once you’ve lost your enamel, it cannot be replaced. Limit sugary drinks like sodas juices and corrosive drinks like alcohol, especially if you already have sensitive teeth, as these can make the pain worse. Don’t brush too hard, and remember, it’s always safest to get teeth whitening done professionally by your dentist.

If you already have extremely sensitive teeth, there are a few things you can do at home to help. You may consider trying toothpaste that’s marketed for sensitive teeth. This toothpaste contains agents like potassium nitrate that are safe for your teeth sensitivity and can help relieve pain. It’s also good to avoid teeth grinding, as this can cause—and worsen—sensitivity. Talk with your dentist if you think you’re a grinder!

Extreme tooth sensitivity can be a burden. Hot and cold foods are forbidden, and oftentimes even things like cold air can make your teeth hurt. There is relief from your pain! Begin by visiting your dentist to uncover the problem, and then follow through with your care at home. Extreme tooth sensitivity doesn’t have to be for life!

The post Finding Relief from Extreme Tooth Sensitivity appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

What Are Dental Sealants?

First, let’s be clear that sealants are in no way a substitute for good oral care. With that out of the way, dental sealants are a coating applied to the chewing surface of teeth to prevent the formation of cavities. The sealant is a synthetic plastic material that is usually clear. While some are concerned that plastic means BPAs, an article from the ADA website provides research showing that these sealants are safe even for children.

What Teeth Are Sealants For?

The teeth that are most commonly treated are molars. That is because the chewing surface is usually pitted, allowing bacteria to build up and cause decay faster. However, any tooth can be treated with a sealant. This process is usually performed when a child gets in their adult teeth, but teeth with no cavities can be treated later on as well.

How Long Do Sealants Last?

It is tough to estimate this, mostly because it depends on how well a person cares for his or her teeth. Again, this is not a substitute for proper oral care. The coating simply acts to overlay the enamel which usually serves to protect the tooth. It is like adding a second protective coating. When teeth are cared for properly, sealants can last for many years.

Is It Worth the Cost?

Treatments are usually performed by the tooth. When a patient has many teeth sealed, the procedure can cost hundreds of dollars. However, because the sealant protects against cavities and other dental problems that are costly to fix, this preventative measure is really a cost-effective means of protecting your teeth. Plus, decay can lead to lost teeth. You can’t really put a price tag on being able to keep your own teeth throughout your life as opposed to dealing with dentures.

Good Oral Care Is a Must

With the help of dental sealants, you can enjoy good oral health throughout your life. However, the responsibility still falls on each individual to care for their teeth daily as well as to schedule regular cleanings with a dental professional.

The post Spotlight on Dental Sealants appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

To Prevent Common Problems

Tooth decay is actually fairly common among young children, and the sugary snacks that are marketed to them aren’t any help. Your child’s dentist can tell if there are any signs of tooth decay and recommend healthy practices to you and your child. While brushing and flossing are important and should be routine for your child, eating sugary snacks frequently is unfortunately something that happens without much thought. These simple sugars create an ideal environment for bacteria that can lead to tooth decay and plaque buildup. Keep healthy and filling snacks around such as celery, apples, and carrots for your child, whether at sports practice or at home. Your dentist can ensure there’s no tooth decay during the back-to-school visit, and if so, get started on treating it to prevent further damage.

Proper Cleaning

The dentist can give your child a proper cleaning after a summer of indulging in sugary treats! This is important to not only get all those tiny spaces cleaned of plaque buildup, but also to get your child ready for the school routine. Brushing twice a day and flossing once a day should be an integral part of your child’s routine with getting ready for school. Your dentist can also determine problems during the cleaning—certain areas where there may be more plaque buildup than others, or maybe your child needs to pay attention to a certain area of his or her mouth when brushing. This proper cleaning and exam by your dentist will help your child start the school year off right with a healthy smile!

Get an Exam

Your dentist is trained to look at the development of your child’s mouth to ensure all is well. Your child’s jaw will develop until they are in their latter teenage years, so proper jaw development is important. Your dentist can also determine if your child has a proper bite. An improper bite can cause improper chewing, teeth grinding, and could even lead to sensitive or painful teeth due to exposure of roots over time from these symptoms. An improper bite can be corrected through braces or perhaps a nightly mouthguard is needed if your child grinds his or her teeth. It’s also sports season, which means your dentist can help get your child a custom mouthguard to fully protect their mouth during their favorite sport!

A back-to-school dental check-up is important when it comes to your child’s oral health. With a proper exam and cleaning, your dentist can determine if your child has any problems that could affect his or her attention and participation in school. Ensure your child is on their way to optimal oral health by visiting your dentist for back-to-school!

The post Why Do Kids Need a ‘Back-to-School’ Dental Visit? appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Provide Balance

Having a healthy balance of good and bad bacteria will prevent bad bacteria that can cause diseases or tooth decay from taking over, help keep our breath fresh, inhibit plaque growth, and provide a healthy path for our food to begin travel into our digestive tract. Eating well, brushing, and flossing can all promote good bacteria. You can also help promote the good bacteria in your mouth by making sure you get enough probiotics. Eat yogurt, sauerkraut, miso soup, kefir, and soft cheeses. Take a quality supplement when you can’t get these things.

Prevents Oral Diseases

Bad bacteria in our mouths can lead to different dental diseases such as periodontal disease (gum disease) and tooth decay, it’s true. Many people think you need to “get rid of” these bad bacteria so that they won’t colonize in your mouth and cause you health problems. This isn’t true, as good bacteria have many functions in our mouths and can regulate the bad. The average person has as many as 20 billion different bacteria in their mouths. It’s impossible to have a sterile mouth, nor should you want one. These good bacteria can help you maintain excellent oral health and prevent disease!

Aids in Digestion

It’s long been said that a healthy gut is vital for a healthy body, and your digestive process begins with
your mouth! There are good bacteria in your mouth that immediately start breaking down food as soon as you start eating. This is where is becomes more important than ever to eat a healthy diet. Refined sugars can easily upset the balance of good and bad bacteria in your mouth, and therefore in your gut, where the food your friendly bacteria helped digest will travel. Eating healthy foods can promote oral health!

Helps Immune System

In many ways, our mouth is considered our body’s first line of defense. When the balance of good and bad bacteria is damaged, our immune system is weakened as the good bacteria are not there to combat the bad bacteria and help our body stay healthy. The same thing can also happen when you use harsh mouthwashes, such as those that claim to “kill” bacteria or contain alcohol. These mouth rinses kill the good bacteria as well as the bad, and this leaves more room for unregulated bad bacteria to grow, therefore damaging our oral health and our immune system.

Next time you think about all those bacteria in your mouth, don’t think they’re these negative things that you need to get rid of. Remember that good bacteria play a vital role in your oral and physical health, and keep your mouth healthy by promoting their existence with healthy dental practices!

The post Bacteria in the Mouth (It’s Not All Bad!) appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.