Unfortunately many around the world suffer from different dental conditions. These can be uncomfortable and make eating and/or biting on anything painful. Asa Los Angeles family dentist, we see this quite often. Some conditions are harder to treat than others, but untreated dental problems can easily escalate into much more complicated situations.
One of the most common dental conditions we see in Los Angeles is ¨sensitive teeth¨. Sensitive teeth become evident when someone is eating cold or hot foods, or even when a cold breeze touches the teeth. The reason why people feel pain is because the dentin that protects the nerve has been partially expose; nerves are what is consider ¨dumb¨ nerves, this type of nerves do not distinguish the difference between what is hot or cold, or if the teeth was hit or touched, everything the teeth nerves feel is regarded as pain.
In this blog article we will give you three different ways you can approach sensitive teeth:
First, we recommend considering the toothpaste you are using. Unfortunately, as a Los Angeles family dentist we do not see many people considering this. Nowadays, there is toothpaste designed to help your teeth feel less pain. These toothpaste options work by clogging dentinal tubules with potassium nitrate or strontium chloride, which prevent painful stimulus from reaching the nerves. When you start using toothpaste for sensitive teeth it will take two to three weeks before effects can become evident.
Second, if you are using fillings on your teeth make sure these are made of materials that are good insulators. As an example, silver fillings are really bad insulators, and they can make teeth become more sensitive over time.
Lastly, because sensitive teeth appear when your dentin is exposed, talk to your doctor about creating a shield for you teeth. There are options, including fluoride, which can be effective for reducing sensitivity by shielding the tooth. Stay tuned for more information from your Los Angeles family dentist.