Good Day my friends. Reality check…winter is here. I think it’s been here since August! Well, that’s just one dentist’s opinion. But what we do notice this time of year is the increase of our patients complaing about tooth sensitivity. Whether it be that our patients come in to get their sensitive teeth checked, sensitive after a cleaning, or sensitive after a dental restoration like a filling or crown. All of these observations increase this time of year. What can you do about sensitive teeth. Unfortunately everyone will experience tooth sensitivity sometime in their lives. It is one of the easiest diagnosis to make, but one of the more difficult problems to treat because it is so variable. 

The most common cause of tooth hypersensitivity is exposed tooth root surfaces. As we age our gums shrink or recede and more of the tooth root surface is exposed. The root surface is covered with small pores, called dentinal tubules, which are filled with living tissue and can communicate directly with the nerve inside the tooth. When a stimulus is applied like hot, cold, air, or sweats, an intense sharp pain lasting only while the stimulus is occurring happens. If we could block up those little pores, then we could block the stimulus. This is where soft toothbrushes and toothpaste for sensitive teeth come into use. Using a soft toothbrush for two minutes on the top teeth and an additional two minutes on the bottom teeth is far better than super scrub with a hard toothbrush for thirty seconds. A soft toothbrush will get your teeth cleaned just as well as a hard toothbrush if you use it properly. Use toothpaste like Sensodyne. Alternatives which may have been improved over the original Sensodyne are  Colgate and Aquafresh Maximum Strength Sensitivity formulas. Stay away from ‘Whitening’ toothpastes which have baking soda or peroxide in their formulas. Those only make your teeth more sensitive. 

However, if you are unsure if you are just having a sensitive tooth or something else is happening like a cavity, then please leave it up to the professionals and call us at(519) 736-4073 to schedule an appointment at your convenience. Please feel free to call Dr. Zeljko Veselinovic, Dr. Salvatore Peralta, Dr. Jerri Ann Buxton at Amherstburg Dental Family Dentistry should you wish for a professional assessment of your teeth and sensitivity. We’ll be happy to make any recommendations to you to achieve a sensitivity free mouth and a beautiful smile!

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Regards,

Dr. Zeljko