Tips for Handling Sensitive Teeth

Sensitive teeth can dramatically affect your enjoyment of life, from enjoying the foods they like to regular pains that can you may experience throughout the day. For those with sensitive teeth, you may be familiar with the sharp pain that can be worsened with pressure or overly hot or cold foods and drinks. But tooth sensitivity doesn’t just mean regular sharp pains.

Sensitive teeth is common when the enamel, the hardest tissue of the teeth is worn away due to poor eating habits. Enamel helps protect your teeth from daily use including chewing, grinding and biting, so it’s no wonder that if these hard tissue is worn away, it can lead to serious pains.

For those struggling with daily tooth sensitivity, here are the best ways to treat and prevent pains.

Get plenty of fluoride

Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay, which is why there are so many toothpastes that are enriched with it! There are a number of ways you can get fluoride, including a treatment from a dentist, fluoride toothpaste or a fluoride rinse, and drinking that has been fluoridated. If you aren’t drinking water with fluoride in it, be sure to treat your teeth in other ways.

Avoid acidic foods when possible

Particular acidic foods can affect your enamel, and it’s even worse for people with sensitive teeth. Avoid too much tea and coffee, and be careful with carbonated drinks, citrus fruits and yoghurt. If you do enjoy these foods or drink, make sure not to brush your teeth immediately after enjoying them. Your teeth are even more sensitive after this, so try neutralising the acid with milk instead.

Get a mouth guard

Grinding your teeth at night is a quick way to get sensitive and sore teeth. While occasional grinding can lead to tooth pains, chronic grinding can actually wear away enamel. What’s worse, the force of teeth grinding when you are unconscious is even harder than when you are awake, so can have even further detrimental effects. Wearing a mouth guard at night will reduce the stress on your teeth and prevent enamel from wearing out.

Switch your toothpaste

A great way to relieve tooth sensitivity is through a targeted toothpaste. Sensitive toothpaste is specially designed to help with repairing weakened enamel and defend against cavities.  It’s a quick and easy fix that, when you choose the right toothpaste, is sure to show huge changes.