Blog

All you need for a quick fix to sensitive teeth in Ormskirk

It is a hot day, early in summer, one of those more and more common British heat waves has blown across the country. You take a first bite of your Arctic-cold, chocolate coated ice cream and a sharp pain from your teeth skewers up to your brain. Familiar? Lots of us have been there. Sensitive teeth happen for a whole host of reasons and for the most part it is nothing to worry about – here is all you need to know about sensitive teeth Ormskirk.

What causes sensitive teeth?

It is worth noting that we find some patients just naturally suffer from more sensitive teeth than others. People’s strength of enamel can vary person to person purely down to genetics. But there are some external factors that can prompt issues with tooth sensitivity, including eating food and drinking beverages that are high in acid and sugar, grinding teeth, brushing too hard and using a toothbrush with hard bristles. In some cases it can be that pre-existing health conditions cause sensitivity such as gastroesophageal reflux, which causes acid to come to the mouth and wears the enamel on patients’ teeth.

How we treat sensitive teeth Ormskirk

Firstly, when you come and see us at the practice for sensitivity we will work out what the cause is and how severe the tooth sensitivity is. When we have all the appropriate information we will work out a treatment plan.

For those patients with very mild sensitivity it is likely we will just work out which best over-the-counter product will help. We at Parbold Dental often see patients having excellent results from just using toothpastes designed for tooth sensitivity. These toothpastes are safe, but use desensitising ingredients to block the pain we feel from hot or cold shocks to teeth.

It could be that we recommend changing to a softer toothbrush or that we even recommend switching up how you brush your teeth and sometimes patients can be brushing with too much force. Though we appreciate this comes from a place of wanting to achieve a good clean, it can cause tooth sensitivity.

For some patients it might be that the tooth or teeth need a little more work and we could recommend fillings, or root canal treatments. However, this is rare and only for serious cases which are usually partnered with other tooth issues.

How to protect yourself

What we have found is that most issues with sensitive teeth Ormskirk come down to patients who have too much sugar and acid in their diet. Taking time to educate yourself on what foods contain high levels of sugar and acid can make a real difference to your tooth health long term. As a starting point, here is a list of foods that are known to contain a lot of sugar: sweets, pastries, baked goods, desserts, biscuits, chocolate, fizzy branded drinks, and fruit. And those that contain a lot of acid: citrus fruits, processed food with lots of salt (ready meals), tomatoes, cheese and fizzy branded drinks.