With the holidays coming up, you can expect to attend a fair number of parties and gatherings. If you haven’t been observing healthy dental habits, however, these wonderful moments could be marred by sudden, sharp, shooting pain in your gums. When this happens, you may be experiencing tooth sensitivity.
Arlington Dental Team, your trusted dentist office in Arlington, VA, answers some common questions about this dental condition.
What Happens When You Have Teeth Sensitivity?
Your dental crowns are enveloped by a layer called enamel, while the cementum covers your dental roots. They serve as protection for your teeth and gums. Your gums also contain dentin, a soft tissue layer that contains small canals. They connect to the pulp, which holds most of your dental nerves.
When these dental protective layers start to recede, they can expose your dentin. This leads to easy entry of fluids or particles through the small canals, reaching your pulp and nerves. In turn, this causes the pain and discomfort you feel whenever you eat hot or cold foods and beverages.
What Causes It?
Our trusted family dentist in Arlington, VA, explains that wear and tear is one of the most common causes of sensitive teeth. Tooth decay, gum disease, and chipped teeth may also lead to dentin exposure. Certain habits, such as teeth grinding, using tooth-whitening products, and eating acidic foods can also cause thinning of your dental protective layers.
What are the Recommended Management?
We can perform a comprehensive dental exam to identify the causative factors. Based on our assessment, we may recommend using desensitizing toothpaste. This can help reduce pain for your increased comfort. We may also perform fluoride treatment to strengthen your tooth enamel, as well as apply bonding resin or fillings to cover up your exposed root surfaces.
For more severe cases, we may also perform gum graft surgery and root canal. The former involves taking gum tissue from other areas. Afterward, we will attach them to the affected site to cover up dentin exposure. In root canals, we may clean the core or dental pulp, then place a dental crown to help reduce sensitivity.
For more information on teeth sensitivity or other dental concerns, you can turn to Arlington Dental Team. Call us at (703) 563-4419 to schedule a dentist appointment in Arlington, VA.