What Your Sensitive Teeth Could Mean

While keeping up with your oral health regimen such as brushing and flossing and attending your twice a year examination and cleaning may be a priority of yours, other factors can contribute to a sensitive smile. Having aching teeth is usually indicative of a bigger issue that is emerging for your oral health, and making the effort to take care of your smile as soon as this begins to occur is a must. The team at Allen & Neumann Family Dentistry in Pella, Iowa encourages patients to seek assistance if they begin to experience tooth sensitivity, even if it seems minor at first, in order to avoid more serious discomfort or concern later on.

Disease or Other Bacteria

When experiencing sensitivity, it can be difficult to locate an exact area that is affected, and typically constitutes multiple teeth that are affected as opposed to one tooth that aches. The aching experienced is your smile’s way of informing you of a negative response to stimuli, such as with extremes in temperature. This could be related to a recession in the gum lines, such as what occurs with periodontal disease, exposing the tooth’s more sensitive roots to the stimuli.

Your Diet May be Harming Your Smile

Another cause for this occurrence could be your diet’s effect on your smile. Teeth contain a protective layer over them known as enamel, and while the purpose of enamel is to act as a shield against harmful substances or threats, it can be worn down as well. This means that once it is gone, there is nothing protecting your pearly whites from the dangers of oral bacteria, acids, and more.

Certain foods and beverages have a high acid content that can affect your grin. For example, coffee causes cosmetic problems such as staining, but also contains a high level of acidity that wears down enamel. Further, Citrus foods and drinks such as orange juice can cause enamel erosion as well, and candies and other sugars cause oral bacteria to secrete acids that harm your smile.

It Could Mean There Are Other Issues

Not only can the above issues be causing this touchy response to stimuli, but other underlying factors may be as well, including any genetic issues, oral health, and more. If you are experiencing any of the above circumstances or are enduring heightened sensitivity, contact your dentist today.

Contact Your Dentist Today

Despite maintaining routine oral health habits, sensitivity may begin to emerge, indicating that something greater is happening to your smile’s health. Contact the team at Allen & Neumann Family Dentistry in Pella, Iowa today at (641) 628-1121 to schedule an appointment to assess to cause of your tooth aching. While you might think the discomfort is mild now, it is better to contact a professional sooner rather than later in the event the discomfort and harm progresses.