Dental Hypersensitivity

What is it?

Dental hypersensitivity is the excessive sensitivity of teeth to normal stimuli.
Usually this presents as pain on stimulation i.e. hot, cold, sweet or pressure.

What causes it?

Sensitivity to hot, cold and sweet things is usually caused exposed dentine. Sometimes this is in a cavity but more commonly the enamel or gum is no longer covering the dentine at the neck of the tooth.

It is particularly common in the autumn and winter as the weather starts to get colder. Cyclists and runners are particularly prone to the effects as the cold wind impacts on the necks of the teeth as they breathe hard, drying the surface of the teeth as well. Certain types of tooth paste and mouthwash can make the exposed dentine more susceptible to sensitivity by over cleaning the teeth and removing the surface layer over the dentine tubules that protect the underlying nerve tissue. Excessive brushing can have the same effect by mechanically removing the same layer. Acidic drinks and food dissolve the layer away and cause the same problem. The effect can occasionally be a temporary side effect of having bonded fillings placed, as an acidic agent is used to clean the tooth
to enhance the bonding effect.

What to do about it?

The first thing to do is have your dentist check that there is not a cavity or decay. Once this cause is eliminated there are a number of possible treatments, and it is normal to start with the simplest (and cheapest) and continue until the problem is eliminated.
The first thing to do is to eliminate causes by avoiding acidic food and drink, stop using abrasive or acidic toothpastes and mouthwash. Change to a desensitising toothpaste or mouthwash. These simple actions will eliminate 75-80% of the problems without further intervention.

If the problem persists your dentist or hygienist can apply a desensitising varnish. If the problem still persists it may become necessary to place a filling, though this is avoided where possible as it involves removing sound tooth to create the space for the filling material, and gets closer to the nerve. On a very small number of occasions the problem does not go away and it becomes necessary to remove the nerve from the tooth. (Root canal treatment).