Can You Ease Sensitivity Before You Come to Your Next Appointment?
Posted on 11/16/2020 by Brandon Cooley
Uncomfortable, even painful, tooth sensitivity is an experience that some people have to hot and cold, sweet and sour, and alcoholic foods and beverages. Tooth sensitivity is the result of a lack of enamel to protect your teeth, and just under your enamel is dentin and nerves; the nerves send pain signals to the brain when they encounter relative extremes in temperature and acidity. Fortunately, we can treat your sensitivity, but there are also some things that you can do to reduce your sensitivity until you are able to come in for an appointment.
Temporarily Decreasing Sensitivity at Home
The following are a few actions that you can take at home to reduce your sensitivity, and they rely on your ability to reduce the wear and tear on your enamel. Buying a softer toothbrush and reducing the brushing pressure can help preserve your enamel. Reducing your consumption of acidic foods and drinks can save your enamel from corrosion and your nerves from aggravation. Grinding your teeth is another process that wears down your enamel and leads to more sensitive teeth; try to be conscious of when you're doing it so that you can stop before significant damage is done.
Sensitivity is a Symptom of a Problem
It is important to remember that tooth sensitivity is a symptom of an underlying problem, and so you should come to us for a diagnosis to ensure that your problem is fixed and not simply masked by a particular treatment that you've used. Over-the-counter treatments might not fix the root cause, and your teeth might incur more damage than if you let us catch the cause earlier. We are looking forward to seeing you for your next appointment, and we hope that these actions will help to minimize your sensitivity until then.
Uncomfortable, even painful, tooth sensitivity is an experience that some people have to hot and cold, sweet and sour, and alcoholic foods and beverages. Tooth sensitivity is the result of a lack of enamel to protect your teeth, and just under your enamel is dentin and nerves; the nerves send pain signals to the brain when they encounter relative extremes in temperature and acidity. Fortunately, we can treat your sensitivity, but there are also some things that you can do to reduce your sensitivity until you are able to come in for an appointment.