If hot, cold, sweet, drinks, or breathing in cold air, makes your teeth painful or sensitive, then you may have sensitive teeth. This can go from minor to a big problem pretty quickly. Desensitization toothpaste can help ease the pain but how about some useful methods to avoid sensitive teeth.
Don’t brush very hard
Side-to-side brushing at the gumline may be the reason to make your enamel go away faster than you think. Always use soft bristled brush and don’t brush your teeth too hard. To keep enamel clean and strong, follow this advice seriously.
Avoid acidic drinks and foods
High-sugar carbs, carbonated drinks, or sticky candy may damage your enamel. Consider avoiding them or if you really want to have your daily soda, try using a straw to minimize contact with teeth. In addition, Never brush your teeth after having an acidic drink as acid softens enamel and immediate brush can make your teeth sensitive. Instead, have a glass of water to neutralize. Having fruits and vegetable, milk, cheese, and yogurt will moisten your mouth and kill bacteria.
Avoid bleaching
Bleaching your teeth may be your great problem as it causes pain. But remember that sensitivity from bleaching is for short-term. You should talk to your dentist whether you should go on bleaching or it may affect your teeth.
Unclench your teeth
Do you grind your teeth at night? Teeth grinding may also affect your enamel. Get help from your dentist, consult on a splint or a mouth guard or you can find it in a pharmacist in oral care section. This helps your teeth bite and protect the enamel in the night.
Take into consideration that tooth sensitivity may be a sign of many other issues, such as:
Gum disease
Your gums may pull back because of plaque and tartar buildup on your teeth. You should avoid smoking as well as the result may be gum disease. To fix this issue, your dentist will clean your teeth. Sometimes you may even need a surgery!
Naturally shrinking gums
People that are more than 40 years old may face their gums pulling away from their teeth. So their tooth roots remain uncovered and don’t have protective enamel. They become much more sensitive than your other teeth. This will be a sign of another problem like gum disease, so there can be serious cases when a gum graft is needed.
A cracked tooth or filling
When you break your tooth, the crack can go deeper in your root. The dentist should be able to examine and advise to solve this.
