Table of contents
When it comes to dental care, tooth sensitivity is one of the most common issues people come across. Whether you’re experiencing on and off pain or you’re struggling with day-to-day tasks, you need to be sure you’re doing all you can when it comes to pain relief.
With that in mind, we want to ensure you have everything you need when it comes to helping treat your pain at home.
What Is Tooth Sensitivity?
To start, let’s take a look at what tooth sensitivity is, as often it can be confused with toothache. To put it simply, if you have sensitive teeth, certain activities such as brushing and eating can cause temporary sharp pains in your teeth. This pain is something that happens regularly, not just once or twice.
According to the Academy of General Dentistry, when it comes to oral health there are around 40 million people in the United States that currently experience some form of tooth sensitivity.
The symptoms of tooth sensitivity include:
If you’re unsure whether or not you’re experiencing tooth sensitivity, looking at the symptoms can certainly help. Those that do have sensitive teeth may find that they experience pain or discomfort as a response to certain triggers. These triggers are different for different people, but the pain is usually at the roots of the affected teeth.
The most common triggers for teeth sensitivity are:
- hot foods and hot drinks
- cold foods and cold drinks
- cold air
- sweet foods and drinks
- acidic foods and drinks
- cold water
- brushing or flossing your teeth
- mouth rinses that are alcohol-based
- Over time you may find that your symptoms may come and go for no obvious reason and depending on the trigger they may range from mild to intense pain.
What May Cause It?
Another common question when it comes to tooth sensitivity is what causes your teeth to be sensitive, as not everyone experiences the pain. Typically, sensitive teeth are a result of either worn tooth enamel or exposed tooth roots.
Although they’re the most common causes, you may also find that there are few other reasons your teeth may be feeling a little sensitive. This includes cavities, a cracked tooth, worn fillings or gum disease.
What Tooth Sensitivity Treatments Are There?
Although finding the source of your sensitivity is crucial when it comes to recommending treatment, here are just a few of the home-remedy treatments that can help you. It’s important to note that you may find that you need to try a couple before you one that works for you.
Salt Water Rinse
Salt is known to be an effective antiseptic and if used correctly, can help to reduce inflammation.
If you’re looking to use salt water to alleviate your pain, it’s best to start off by gargling with a saltwater rinse twice a day. To do this, all you need to do is add ½ to ¾ tsp salt to a glass of lukewarm water and mix well. Swish the solution in your mouth for at least 30-seconds, spitting it out once you’re done.
Desensitizing Toothpaste
If you experience pain while brushing, desensitizing toothpaste is a great place to start as it can help reduce your sensitivity throughout the day too.
For those that don’t know how it works, desensitizing toothpaste contains compounds that help to shield nerve endings from any irritants. After just a few uses, you will notice that your sensitivity has reduced, so dentists will often recommend this to those that suffer daily.
Honey With Hot Water
Although it may not be it’s most common use, honey is also known to be an antibacterial agent that is used in wound management. If you’re experiencing sensitivity, honey can be used to help reduce the inflammation and speed up the healing process. All you need to do is rinse your mouth out with warm water and a spoonful of honey!
Hydrogen Peroxide
Although it may not sound safe, hydrogen peroxide is can be used as a mild antiseptic and disinfectant. Commonly used to help sterilize cuts and burns, peroxide is also used as a mouth rinse that heals your gums and prevents inflammation. To rinse, add two caps of 3% hydrogen peroxide to two caps of warm water and swish for 30 seconds. Once you have used the peroxide rinse, rinse your mouth out again to remove any residue.
Green Tea
Not only is green tea delicious, but it’s also another product that is known for it’s incredibly benefits to health. One of the lesser-known uses for green tea is in relation to dental care, especially for those with sensitive teeth. If you do want to use green tea, try using unsweetened green tea as a mouthwash both morning and night.
Turmeric
As well as being used in various different recipes, turmeric is a known anti-inflammatory treatment, great for those that are suffering from a pulsing sensation as a result of their sensitive teeth.
When it comes to oral health and Tumeric, you can alleviate the pain from your sensitive teeth by massaging ground Tumeric onto them. Alternatively, you can create a paste using 1 tsp turmeric, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp mustard oil. Applying this paste twice a day has been proven to help with pain relief.
Vanilla Extract
Vanilla extract contains antiseptic, giving it various different pain-relief properties. Commonly used to treat babies’ pain and discomfort, parents often use this when their children are teething as it tastes better than many alternatives. Using a cotton ball, apply the vanilla extract to your gums as often as is needed.
Capsaicin
The compound found in chilli peppers, otherwise known as capsaicin, has properties that are used to reduce inflammation and pain. If you have sensitive teeth, capsaicin can be used as either a gel or mouth rinse. Although it might burn, to begin with, it will eventually reduce pain symptoms of tooth sensitivity.
