Often making the wrong food choice can lead to serious problems in the mouth. If your teeth react painfully while drinking hot or cold drinks, there is no room for doubt that your teeth are sensitive. And as long as you continue eating the wrong food, your teeth’s condition will only become worse.
Hence, taking care of your teeth can help you fight this unpleasant and painful feeling. But what to do if you have no medical knowledge of the matter? You can always consult your dentist and you can also self-educate yourself. To help you with the latter, I’ve compiled a list of 7 recommended things to do to decrease the teeth sensitivity.
1) Brush Your Teeth Regularly but Carefully
The dentists recommend brushing the teeth after every meal. If that seems like it’s too much, keep to the basic rule – twice a day, in the morning and at night, before going to bed and floss after meals during the day. As there are three types of toothbrushes, soft, medium and firm based on the firmness of the bristles, you should use the brush that suits your tooth sensitivity.
The dentists recommend the soft-bristled brush which is the excellent choice to protect your tooth enamel. The tooth enamel is the protective layer on the teeth that acts like a barrier against everything that comes in contact with the teeth. Unfortunately, this hard, protective layer can be worn away if you use improper firmness of the brush or eat too many acidic foods and drinks.
Also, it is crucial that you brush carefully, and not too hard as you might be brushing off more than just plaque off your teeth. Proper brushing means brushing up and down instead of side to side and under a 45-degree angle from the gum.
2) Be careful with the Food and Drinks You Consume
As I mentioned before, acidic food and drinks are damaging to the tooth enamel. These foods include sticky candy, high-sugar carbs and fatty foods. In their place, try consuming more of fibre-rich fruits and vegetables, cheese, milk and plain yogurt. They keep the tooth enamel healthy and get rid off tooth sensitivity.
Another thing you can do is to drink tea, green or black, or chew gums without sugar. And if you still happen to eat acidic food, don’t brush away immediately – wait an hour for it to strengthen and then scrub away.
3) Don’t Grind Your Teeth
This is a serious problem that damages the tooth enamel and leads to grave tooth sensitivity. Clenching the teeth might be a result of stressful situations over which you might not have too much control, but you can still address the problem and try to get rid of it. If you are still not able to stop voluntarily grinding your teeth, then ask your dentist to help you by fitting you a splint or a mouthguard.
4) Avoid Bleaching the Teeth
We all know that white teeth look awesome and they are a great confidence-booster. However, regular bleaching destroys the tooth enamel, big time! The treatment can increase your tooth sensitivity and even though the feeling is only temporary, the damage can be permanent.
Therefore, it is best to consult your dentist whether you should continue with the bleaching treatment and if yes, under which circumstances.
5) Look for a Deeper Problem and Solve It
Perhaps your gums are shrinking if you are closing on the 40-year threshold of life. It is a natural process that happens to most the people over 40 and it is unstoppable, unfortunately. The gums are pulling away from the teeth and the tooth roots are being uncovered. Consequently, the roots don’t have enamel to protect them so they become more sensitive.
If this is your case and receding gums is your evident problem, talk to your dentist to uncover the root of the problem.
Another problem that must be solved is gum disease. Gum disease is the most painful creator of tooth sensitivity. Plaque and tartar build-up on the teeth, destroying the tooth enamel. This leads to pulling back of the gums and leaving the tooth unprotected. As a result, the disease can set it and destroy the bony support.
Therefore, try to quit smoking if you are a smoker because otherwise you would have to have your teeth deep cleaned and this is a procedure that might harm the tooth enamel.
6) Treat Your Broken or Cracked Teeth
You might not even know that your tooth is broken or cracked but you are certain to start feeling the pain in the form of strenuous tooth sensitivity. This is something that only the dentist can fix so if you are feeling such pain don’t wait and make that appointment.
The dentist will fix the crack or pull pout the teeth if the crack is below the gum line.
7) Use the Right Products
Finally, to ease your pain you should use a toothpaste for sensitive teeth, fluoride gel, desensitizing pastes, mouthguard to protect teeth from grinding and effective cleaners of the mouth appliance like the Retainer Brite for example.