If you’ve ever drank a cold soda or a hot coffee just right, you know that your teeth can be sensitive. The rapid change in temperature can send some pangs of discomfort through your teeth. These sensitive responses come from a variety of sources, including cavities, cracks, worn enamel or exposed teeth roots. If you’ve experienced any sort of discomfort with temperature changes, you should come in to see us as soon as possible so we can give you relief—but in the meantime, here are some things you can do at home to lessen your distress.
Why Teeth Become Sensitive
If you know why your teeth are sensitive, it’ll help in picking the right approach to lessen the discomfort. For example, if you believe that you have a cracked tooth from grinding your teeth at night, you’ll want to first get a bite guard for the nighttime to mitigate causing more damage, then you’ll want to wash your mouth with a saltwater rinse. Saltwater is a great disinfectant and is usually used when people have their wisdom teeth removed. However, it can also help here, since there could be an infection, a symptom of which, is sensitivity.
In other cases, such as the loss of tooth enamel, these types of damage occur naturally as we age. There are just some habits that exacerbate the process, thereby bringing on sensitivity far earlier than expected. Taking poor oral habits into consideration (like brushing too hard) is only one of the ways we have a loss of enamel. The other is by eating highly acidic foods and not removing the acid from our teeth efficiently.
We Can Help
If you’ve been living with sensitive teeth, your best option for lasting relief is to come see us. We can diagnosis the reason for your discomfort and work with you to form a plan around how best to combat the damage, and in some cases reverse it. Call us now to speak with us about how we can help you.
