We all experience tooth sensitivity from time to time, whether it’s because we have a growing cavity, we’ve eaten something too hot or too cold, or because of jaw-related injuries. Regardless, tooth sensitivity prevents us from enjoying our favorite foods and living life to the fullest.

But you don’t have to wait for tooth sensitivity to take care of itself – and in many cases, it won’t if you don’t take quick steps to correct it! Let’s look at a few tooth sensitivity remedies in detail.

How Do You Stop Sensitive Teeth Pain?

Tooth sensitivity can be incessant and frustrating to live with, but there are multiple ways to potentially stop tooth sensitivity in its tracks. Here are a few effective strategies to consider.

Don’t Overbrush

Be sure not to over brush your teeth. Maintaining a consistent and stellar tooth brushing routine is key to long-term dental health, but you only need to brush your teeth twice per day – once in the morning and once in the evening – for two minutes per session.

It’s not really necessary to brush your teeth three times or more per day unless your dentist says otherwise. Doing so might, in fact, cause the bristles of your toothbrush to wear down the enamel of your teeth.

When this occurs, your tooth’s dentin and roots can become exposed or sensitive to hot or cold foods or even tooth pressure. If you grind down your teeth’s enamel, you’ll also make your teeth more vulnerable to cavities and tooth decay.

Avoid Acidic Foods and Beverages

You should also consider adjusting your diet to get rid of acidic foods and beverages. Examples include drinking too much fruit juice, eating too much acidic fruit, drinking too much soda, and more.

Acidic foods and beverages can also wear down enamel over time, making your teeth more vulnerable to decay.

Stop Grinding Your Teeth

Many of us develop a habit of grinding our teeth as children and never really quit it. But grinding your teeth can wear down the enamel on the tops of your teeth and lead to tooth sensitivity just by irritating or inflaming the nerves underneath your teeth's crowns.

If you think you’re grinding your teeth at night, speak to your dentist and they may be able to provide you with a tooth guard that can help your body break the habit over time.

Take a Break from Tooth Bleaching

In the pursuit of a whiter smile, many people bleach their teeth regularly. But bleaching your teeth can burn away enamel and lead to chronic tooth sensitivity.

Give your teeth a break and double down on a tooth brushing routine with fluoride to remineralize your enamel and see if that helps.

Practice Good Dental Hygiene and Buy the Right Toothpaste

Above all else, you should practice a thorough dental hygiene routine, which includes buying an effective toothpaste with ingredients like fluoride or Calprox: an excellent and safe protecting and whitening agent exclusively available at Supersmile.

Visit Your Dentist

If your tooth sensitivity doesn’t go away after trying each of these tricks, you should contact your dentist for an appointment. They’ll be able to examine your teeth up close and determine if there’s an underlying condition at the root (no pun intended) of your tooth sensitivity problems.

How Do Dentists Treat Sensitive Teeth?

If your dentist does discover an issue with your teeth, they may treat tooth sensitivity using a variety of procedures or treatments.

Fillings

Fillings are the best way to tackle cavities, which are small holes gradually burrowed into your teeth by plaque and bacteria. During a filling appointment, your dentist drills away any infected tooth dentin, then fills in the empty space with a neutral resin or metallic filling. The resulting filling cannot be infected by bacteria again.

Sealants

Sealants are a kind of safety net to help keep hard-to-reach teeth (such as your back molars) clean. Sealants are protective coatings made from plastics or other materials. They adhere to the surfaces of your teeth and can help stop cavities from forming.

However, note that sealants are not full replacements for a good tooth brushing and flossing routine. They're designed to assist people who have difficulty achieving high-quality dental hygiene in other ways or to help stop a cavity from fully forming while it is still in its earliest stages.

Desensitizing Pastes

A desensitizing paste may be applied if your tooth sensitivity has progressed to the point where it interferes with your everyday life. The desensitizing paste essentially numbs the nerves of your gums and teeth, helping to block out the pain while you wait for a more permanent solution, such as a tooth extraction or a root canal.

Root Canals

A root canal is an advanced dental procedure that is necessary if a cavity has progressed to the roots of a tooth. With a root canal, your dentist drills away infected tooth material and root matter, eventually getting rid of the roots entirely.

The holes in your tooth and gums are then filled with a sterile resin that prevents tooth decay from occurring in the same place. A protective cap is placed over the top of your tooth to strengthen it for the long term. 

Why Are My Teeth Sensitive to Cold?

Out of all types of tooth sensitivity, sensitivity to cold is among the most common. There are multiple reasons why your teeth might be sensitive to cold foods or air.

Shrinking Gums

As your gums shrink, they gradually reveal the roots of your teeth. The roots hold the nerves and blood vessels of your teeth as they reach the inner pulp of an individual tooth.

If the roots are exposed, they aren’t being protected by the crown or enamel of your teeth, so they will naturally be more sensitive to cold foods, beverages, or ambient air. Your gums can shrink because of age, eating habits, or even gum disease.

Gum Disease

Gum disease itself can cause your teeth to be sensitive to the cold. As your gums become irritated and inflamed due to disease, they may also irritate the nerves of your teeth, which can lead to exacerbated sensitivity to cold temperatures. 

A Cracked Filling or Tooth

Teeth can become cracked or damaged from accidents, fights, or other causes. Regardless, a cracked tooth or tooth filling can expose the inside pulp or roots of a tooth to the air. Not only is this dangerous for bacterial infection, but it’s also likely to lead to tooth sensitivity.

Again, the nerves of your teeth aren’t designed to be exposed to cold foods or beverages. It’s imperative to get a cracked filling or tooth taken care of ASAP.  

Worn Down Enamel

Your teeth’s enamel can be progressively worn down over time through a variety of causes, including:

• Plaque and bacterial build-up. Bacteria can chew through enamel over time, eventually leading to a cavity
• Overbrushing, in which the bristles of your toothbrush strip away enamel
• Whitening agents or bleaching products can also burn away enamel if they are used too frequently
• A diet high in acidic foods, which strips enamel down over months or years

Enamel can’t be replaced once it’s gone. So you have to take steps to protect the enamel of your teeth now, as well as work to remineralize any gaps that already exist through the use of fluoride toothpaste.

Can Tooth Sensitivity Go Away?

Yes. Depending on the intensity of your tooth sensitivity and your dentist’s recommendation, you can pursue several strategies to make tooth sensitivity go away:

• Try using a toothpaste made for sensitive teeth. Such toothpastes usually include lots of fluoride for remineralization and other soothing or antibacterial ingredients
• Get a mouth guard to protect your teeth from being ground against one another
• Use a fluoride gel to boost the re-mineralization effort
• Some dentists may apply fillings to cover any exposed tooth roots
• Avoid eating or drinking excessively cold or hot beverages and food for the duration of your tooth sensitivity
• Try to eat softer foods for a while

In addition, tooth sensitivity sometimes fades away on its own if you correct the root cause of the issue.

Conclusion

Fortunately, tooth sensitivity can be remedied through all sorts of lifestyle changes or direct treatments. One of the best active ways you can treat tooth sensitivity starting today is through purchasing and using high-quality dental tools and products.

Supersmile is just the choice for this goal. With us, you’ll find fluoride and Calprox-infused toothpaste and mouthwash products, plus top-tier electric toothbrushes to replace your old manual one. All of these solutions can help you avoid or treat tooth sensitivity.

Best of all, we have a wealth of resources if you have more questions regarding tooth or overall oral hygiene. Check out our online store today and say goodbye to regular tooth sensitivity!

Sources:

Sensitive Teeth - Heat and Cold Sensitivity - American Dental Association | Mouthhealthy.org

Sensitive teeth: What treatments are available? | Mayo Clinic

Article What Can You Do About Sensitive Teeth? | WebMD

Sensitive Teeth: Causes, Symptoms, Treatments, and More | Healthline

Sensitive Teeth Home Remedies: 8 Ways to Treat Tooth Pain | Healthline