ANTISENSITIVITY TOOTHPASTES…ARE THEY REALLY THE SOLUTION?

Desensitizing toothpaste can help alleviate tooth sensitivity for a short period without causing any adverse side effects, but it does not address the root cause of the problem, such as cavities or gingival recession. All it does is temporarily numb the nerve endings or plugs them in your teeth so that you feel less pain, but this effect diminishes after a while and wears off completely once you discontinue its use. Thus, prolonging the use of such pastes simply does not solve the dental concern that causes the sensitivity but it worsens the problem.

Whenever a patient comes in to our dental office with the complaint of sensitivity to cold, we, being the team of Best Dentist in Gurgaon at ExlDentist, primarily interview them about when they have this symptom. (Drinking cold or hot liquids or breathing cold air). Also do they have intermittent pain on chewing food sometimes (cracked filling or cracked tooth)?

In my office, after this brief interview and clinical examination, I have my assistant take a periapical radiograph and I examine the tooth or teeth in question specifically looking for signs of a crack in a tooth or filling, decay approaching the pulp and/or dentin erosion. In addition, I tap gently on the tooth with the back end of my dental mirror to see whether this is causing discomfort.

There are a number of different possible answers to this question. Teeth that are bothered by drinking cold liquids or breathing cold air could be suffering from “cracked tooth syndrome, a loose filling, tooth abrasion near the gums, occlusal erosion, deep decay, pulpitis, or even a root caries with gum inflammation.

Sensitivity to cold implies that the pulp of the symptomatic tooth is still vital. If the pain caused by cold doesn’t linger afterwards for more than a few seconds, it is a good sign since teeth with irreversible pulpitis (tooth needs root canal) often have lingering pain after a cold challenge.

Intraoral radiographs are quite helpful for the diagnosis of the type of proximal decay that can cause cold sensitivity and clinical examination with by a dentist can usually detect occlusal, buccal or lingual decay. Obviously if decay is noted the tooth should have all decay removed and a filling is placed since this can often get rid of cold sensitivity due to decay.

Occasionally teeth with pre-existing large fillings can develop a crack that can’t be detected visually since the crack is under the filling. Often, I have my patients bite in various positions on a wooden spatula until they find where they are having pain. This can help isolate which tooth is causing their sensitivity.

Sometime a dentist may recommend root canal treatment to make the patients sensitivity go away, but unless their sensitivity is prolonged or severe this approach is not the most conservative way to go since teeth sensitive to cold are invariably vital and not infected. Giving the tooth a chance to recover seems like a more sensible approach.

As one can imagine it can be difficult to pin down why a tooth is sensitive to cold, but through careful analysis we, at ExlDentist come up with a theory as to why and can take appropriate action to lessen the sensitivity. If after a thorough exam, the cause of a patient’s sensitivity is still unclear, it is often best to take a “wait and see “approach in order to see if the sensitivity resolves on its own, stays the same or gets worse. This is certainly preferable to performing unnecessary procedures that may not help resolve the situation.

Undoubtedly, it’s best to see your dentist so she/he can try to diagnose the issue and not just use an antisensitive toothpaste that’s over the counter available, which can further worsen the problem by just giving a temporary relief and not solving the problem per se.

To get your sensitivity checked and diagnosed, Book an Appointment with us.