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Dental Health and Food: Learning to Eat Better

My intense love for candy, cakes, and everything in between started as a child. I simply couldn't go one day without something sweet to eat. But my love for all things sweet took a toll on my teeth. My dentist diagnosed me with seven cavities, each one a different size and depth. After sitting through four long dental appointments, I decided to make a change. I now monitor my diet and only eat things that benefit my oral health. I'm here to help you take better care of your teeth. My blog offers tips on how to improve your diet, maintain good oral hygiene, and many other topics. Hopefully, you can learn to overcome your bad habits just as I did. Good luck with your future dental health.

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Dental Health and Food: Learning to Eat Better

Causes And Treatments For Sensitive Teeth

by Eric Bailey

Dental sensitivity can be uncomfortable. If you suffer from a sensitivity condition, you may feel discomfort or pain when you drink or eat something that is cold or hot. Additionally, the bite pressure associated with chewing hard foods may be uncomfortable. Nevertheless, there are dental applications that can help treat dental sensitivity, depending on the cause of the condition.

Here are a few causes of sensitive teeth and how they can be treated.

Enamel Erosion

Your tooth enamel may wear away over time as the teeth are exposed to acids. The acids dissolve the tooth enamel, increasingly exposing the dentin layer, which contains tubules that house the dental nerves.

To treat enamel erosion, your dentist may recommend a fluoride treatment. The fluoride coats the teeth and attracts dissolved minerals, such as calcium and phosphorous, back to the tooth material. The fluoride then bonds with the minerals to help form new enamel that is more resistant to acid damage than the original tooth material.

Enamel erosion can also be treated by dental sealants. The sealants are added to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth. The sealants, which are made of resin, form a plastic barrier over the teeth that protects them from contact with acids.

In some cases, the enamel erosion is caused by bruxism or dental grinding. The grinding wears away the tooth material, resulting in dental sensitivity. To treat bruxism, you should wear a mouthguard nightly. The guard absorbs the pressure of the grinding and protects the teeth from wear.

Gum Recession

As the gums recede, the dental nerves have less protection from the environment of the oral cavity. If the recession is due to advanced gum disease, the dentist may treat the condition with scaling and root planing procedures.

The procedures remove tartar accumulations from the teeth and smooth the dental roots. After the deep-cleaning treatment, the gums can heal properly, remedying the recession.

Cracked Teeth

Teeth that are cracked are often more sensitive. The teeth may be treated with a crown or a dental bonding material, depending on the depth and severity of the crack.

If the crack has breached the pulp of the tooth and infection has ensued, a root canal procedure may be necessary. During the procedure, the pulp is removed. Since the pulp contains the dental nerves, its removal stops the sensitivity.

If you suffer from sensitive teeth, schedule a consultation with a dentist in your local area.

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