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TOOTH SENSITIVITY OR PAIN


Due to the many causes of tooth sensitivity or pain, we suggest you visit our dental practice to help determine the cause of your specific cause of tooth pain or sensitivity and what treatment options may be available for you.

The following details only cover the more common causes of tooth sensitivity or pain.

Many adults may suffer from sensitive teeth

When sensitivity affects your teeth, eating experiences that are normally pleasurable can be very painful. Food and drinks that are usually enjoyable such as hot coffee, steaming soup, ice-cold drinks or ice-cream - may stimulate a sharp, sudden pain that shoots deep into the nerve endings of your teeth.

If you've experienced sensitivity, you know its sensation all too well. What you may not know is that this condition can often be prevented or possibly eliminated.

By learning about sensitivity you may find that your one step closer to enjoying hot or cold foods and drinks.

What causes sensitive/painful teeth?

1. Caries (Decay)/Abscess

Bacteria may destroy the enamel of the tooth making its way to the next layer in, being dentine. The dentine is directly connected to the pulp of the tooth via little tubules. These fluid filled tubules once exposed, conduct hot/cold/sweet sensations to the nerve of the tooth, often making the tooth sensitive.

As the bacteria penetrates further into the tooth it may start to infect and destroy the pulp (nerve) of the tooth. The dying nerve may start becoming very sensitive as the nerves are now completely exposed.

This infection can then continue if not treated, through the tip of the root into the bone causing an abscess. The tooth could progress from being sensitive to a tooth ache and the face may become swollen. A root canal treatment or tooth removal may be required.

2. Tartar

Tartar is a hardened substance that adheres to the surface of the tooth. It is made up of several components being bacteria (plaque), saliva and food. The bacterial component may destroy the gingiva (gum) causing gingivitis and this could progress to destroying the bone holding the tooth causing Periodontitis. This may expose the root of the tooth (recession) which is very close to the nerve causing possible sensitivity.

3. Toothbrush abrasion

People who use a very hard toothbrush or not the correct brushing technique can destroy the gingiva (gum) around the tooth causing it to recede, exposing the root of the tooth. Continuing with a poor brushing habit can wear away the root surface and this could cause very sensitive teeth.

4. Abfraction

People who grind or clench their teeth can cause the tooth enamel to flex along the gum line. This may cause the gum to recede and start to destroy tooth structure at this point. Combine this with a poor brushing habit, the surface of the root is worn away and this could cause very sensitive teeth.

5. Grinding/Clenching

This habit wears away tooth structure. Also the constant severe forces placed on the teeth may cause the nerve to be over stimulated and consequently very sensitive.

6. Cracked tooth syndrome

This problem is becoming more and more common as many people retain most teeth for a life time. More details are just below.

Click Urgent Dental Treatment for details about pain relief and what to do if your tooth gets knocked out.

Cracked tooth syndrome

This is becoming one of the biggest problems in dentistry today and a large cause of why teeth are having to be extracted. This generation of humans are living longer than any other previous generation. So our teeth are being asked to do a lot more for us then they have in the past.

Common Signs and Symptoms

1. Pain on chewing or when you release the biting pressure (this is because the crack is opening and closing). The chewing pain may be intermittent or only occur when it is hard or grainy foods that land on the weakened spot. Often the pain is very short, sharp and specific.

Some people "learn" how to avoid eating on the cracked tooth and feel as though the problem as gone away. The problem can then get worse.

2. Sensitivity to hot, cold foods or sweet things

3. Can slowly progress to a constant toothache (this usually means that the nerve of the tooth is now damaged and root canal treatment may be required).

Treatment of Cracked tooth syndrome


If a tooth has a large filling in it that takes up more than one third of the natural crown of the tooth then its strength may be substantially reduced. The risk of tooth fracture over time is increased and a crown or overlay restoration may be recommended as a preventative measure or soon after the tooth fractures.

  Amalgam Metal Filling Weakens Tooth   Tooth Enamel Fractures   Porcelain Crown
   

Two common causes of cracked teeth are;

1. Large Fillings - teeth with fillings in them are mechanically weaker, as there is less tooth structure present to hold the tooth together. If the filling in the tooth involves more than one third of the tooth then the strength of the tooth can be less than half of its normal strength. Every time you eat, grind or clench the tooth is likely to flex slightly. After doing this many thousands of times a fracture or hair line crack may propagate just like a crack in a car's windscreen.

2. Habits - this involves people who Clench or grind their teeth or chew on objects such as hard sweets. The tooth is often not strong enough for this constant trauma.

Treatment

A visit to your dentist as soon as possible is important to increase the chances of saving the tooth or preventing more extensive and expensive treatment.

A simple crack is where the nerve of the tooth is not involved. These teeth often require a crown. A filling may not properly hold the crack together. The crown, however acts like the metal rings that hold a barrel together. Alternatively it may be possible to place a restoration made of resin, ceramic or gold over the biting surfaces of the tooth (cusps) to help reduce the possibilty of crack propagation.

In rare cases the crack may involve the nerve (complex crack) and the tooth could still remain or become problematic even after the crown is placed. This is due to bacteria that cannot be removed from the crack and it could enter the nerve. In these cases root canal treatment may be possible to do through the crown and a white filling can often be placed in the middle of the crown. In some cases the crown may require replacement after the root canal is completed.

The crown usually continues to hold the tooth together. In rare cases the crack can cause the tooth root to split below the crown. In these rare cases the tooth may have to be removed (extraction).

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Dentist, Dental, Cosmetic Dentist

'The Jewel' Level 2, Suite 219, 566 St Kilda Road , Melbourne, Australia 3004
Phone: (03) 9533-8488 Fax: (03) 9533-8066
help@enhancedental.com ABN 6007214093