By now you must have understood the importance of oral health and dental care, especially when it comes to tooth sensitivity. Sensitivity can make you avoid your favorite foods and drinks due to the pain caused by exposed nerve endings beneath your teeth. Sweet, sour, and even cold foods or air can trigger this discomfort.
Sensitive teeth pain is often unexpected and sharp, it can deny you the pleasure from eating. Tooth sensitivity is quite different from toothache, you don’t necessarily need to chew anything before the pain sets in. It can be trigger when we take certain things of different temperatures, such as hot coffee, tea, broth soups or iced coffee, tea or cold water.
Basically our teeth enamel protects the soft parts found inside the teeth, the dentin is located right inside. Tooth root is held and protected in the gum. This is how a healthy teeth should be, but there are certain things that works against this natural structure. Enamel erosion, cracked tooth, acidic foods and drinks, tooth breaching, leaky fillings and gum disease can all destroy the tooth structure, leaving the dentin exposed.
The dentin extends down to the root of the tooth and is protected by a layer of cementum. It houses highly sensitive nerves endings, if left exposed it can result to teeth sensitivity. I wrote a post earlier on causes of sensitive teeth , there I listed different things that can expose your teeth dentin.
This a common health problem that is affecting millions of people, according to a research carried out by Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. (1) It is shown that lots of people people experience tooth sensitivity after having a cavity filled or a filling replaced, and also after teeth whitening treatments. There are reliable remedies for fast relief from sensitive teeth pain, I will give you a list of this remedies and how to prepare some of them.
Available Treatments To Stop Sensitive Teeth Pain (2)
1. Garlic : garlic contains lots of natural compounds that are beneficial for oral care. It contains allicin which exhibits powerful anti-inflammatory, anesthetic and antimicrobial properties. Although many people detests eating garlic because of its strong odor. It actually kills lots of harmful microorganisms in the mouth, protecting the mouth from oral infections, tooth decay, cavities and so on. It works quite well when used for treating pain from tooth sensitivity, it does the relief amazingly well and also speeds up the healing process.
How to use garlic for teeth sensitivity : Get some cloves of garlic and make a paste by crushing the cloves, add some few drops of water (2 to 3 drops or more as necessary). Get some salt and add just a pinch with your two fingers to the paste, mix everything together thoroughly. When your garlic paste is ready, apply the paste on the affected tooth and gum, allow the paste to stay for about 5 – 10 minutes before washing it off with clean water. You should apply the paste for at least two times daily.
2. Coconut Oil Pulling : Only few people know that coconut oil great for oral care, the oil is popularly known as a carrier oil for essential oils used for skin and hair care. Coconut oil pulling has strong analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, it promotes healthy teeth and gums, it’s very effective for fighting sensitive teeth pain. It can whiten your teeth, the oil cuts through plaque and removes toxins and bacteria from the gums (3). The oil is great for eliminating harmful microorganisms in the mouth and also for treating Inflammations and infections.
How To Use Coconut Oil For Sensitive Teeth : Get a virgin coconut oil, measure out a teaspoon of the oil and swish around your mouth. Ensure to swish the oil for at least 10 minutes, remember the idea is to remove plaques and harmful microbes, don’t swallow! Spit out the oil after swishing, the oil will contain bacteria and plaques that was in your mouth. Ensure to rinse your mouth with clean water afterwards.
3. Salt Water Rinse : salt water has natural anti-inflammatory, antiseptic properties, it can also be used to stop sensitive teeth pain. Just as the coconut oil, salt water helps to remove plaque buildup and bacteria. When gargled in the mouth, it provides a pH balance to the mouth, it’s creates a harsh alkaline environment where harmful bacteria can not survive.
How To Use Salt Water For Sensitive Teeth : as you already know, you will need some salt to prepare the salt water. Half teaspoon of salt will do the work, a glass of warm water is required too. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the glass of warm water and wait for the salt to dissolve completely. Gargle the salt water in your mouth and spit out after. You can use this remedy for at least twice a day in order to stop teeth sensitivity.
4. Clove Essential Oil : Clove oil is popularly used in dentistry because of its strong anti-inflammatory, anesthetic and antibacterial properties. It has an excellent pain relieving effect on any part of the body it touches, it numbs pain almost immediately. It helps to relief oral pain, and also maintains healthy gum and teeth. Because of its great pain relieving (analgesic) effects, clove oil is effective for treating toothache and teeth sensitivity. Clove oil is very strong, before using this oil it’s essential to dilute it with an appropriate carrier oil. You can check out this post to find out suitable carrier oils for diluting essential oil.
How To Use Clove Oil For Sensitive Teeth : First of all, dilute your clove essential oil with a carrier oil of your choice. Let’s say that you choose to use coconut oil, add six drops of clove essential oil to a teaspoon of coconut oil for proper dilution. Mix thoroughly and apply directly on the affected tooth and gum. Leave this oil for some few minutes before rinsing it out with clean water. Re-apply this remedy as often as necessary daily.
5. Guava Leaves : many people are ignorant of this amazing leaf, it has numerous health benefits. Guava leaves are loaded with lots of benefitial flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol, and routine), this flavonoids are responsible for its strong anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. (4 ) Its ideal for relieving oral pain like that of toothache and teeth sensitivity.
How To Use Guava Leaves For Sensitive Teeth : it’s very easy, just get some fresh guava leaves and wash them. Chew up the leaves in your mouth, making sure that the water coming out from the leaves touches the affected tooth and gum. Leave the chewed guava leaves with its water in your mouth for some few minutes before rinsing it out with clean water. If you can use this remedy for at least twice a day, the effects will be faster.
6. Onion : Onion is good for fighting oral infections, it also contains lots of benefitial flavonoids just like guava leaves. Onion has powerful anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial compounds that kills harmful bacteria and other microbes in the market, preventing oral infection. It’s very effective for fighting teeth sensitive pain and numerous oral problems.
How To Use Onion For Sensitive Teeth : Wash an onion and slice it into small sizes that you can comfortably fit into your mouth. You will need to place some pieces of the onion directly on the affected tooth and gum, leave it there for some few minutes. This method might not be convenient for some people, also the onion might not be able to touch all the affected areas. Alternatively, you can can chew some piece of the sliced onion and move it to the affected parts.
Other Effective Ways To Stop Sensitive Teeth Pain
7. Desensitizing Toothpastes : this are special toothpastes that you can use to treat teeth sensitivity. (5 ) There are lots of toothpastes out there, but not all of them are quite good for sensitive teeth. Fluoridated toothpaste are good and very effective for sensitive teeth control. There are different brands available in the market, you can contact your dentist to help you make the right choice. For fast results, use a desensitizing toothpaste every morning and night.
8. Fluoridated Mouthwash : Fluoride toothpastes and mouthwash are very effective for relieving tooth pain and sensitivity. They form a protective layer on your eroded tooth, thereby strengthening your teeth enamel. There are also other protective products that contains titanium tetrafluoride, polyvalent metal ions, arboxymethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose and polyethylene glycol that offers great protection. (6)
In Asia and Europe the use of silver diamine fluoride for treatment of sensitive teeth pain was approved in 2014. The use and application of silver diamine fluoride, showed a remarkable reduction in pain. It protects the exposed dentin, resulting to a harder tooth surface and structure. Unlike fluoridated mouthwash and toothpastes, silver diamine fluoride is applied only twice a year by a dentist.
Finally, any of the remedies that I listed above can help you stop sensitive teeth pain, another potential solution is changing some of the lifestyle that are damaging your teeth. You should cut down on acidic foods and drinks, practice good oral hygiene. Also use toothbrush that has soft bristles, avoid aggressive brushing, always blush gently. If the sensitivity continues after some few lifestyle changes, you should see a dentist for proper evaluation.
Richard Smith is a Registered Nutritionist and also a Health Speaker. Richard Smith graduated from The City University of New York. You can learn more about him by Visiting His LinkedIn Page or Follow him on Twitter.
Note: All links leading to our recommended products are all verified to be the products’ official website, so as to ensure you get the original product at no additional cost to you.
One comment