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How Your Dentist Treats Tooth Sensitivity

If you suffer from tooth sensitivity, then you know how much this oral pain can affect your life. The pain strikes when you bite into a food item that touches an exposed nerve in a tooth. Though the pain may fade upon removal of the stimulus, it can still feel awful.

In most cases, tooth sensitivity will not go away on its own. You will need intervention from a dentist to find relief from this oral discomfort.

You can begin this journey to restoring your smile by scheduling a dental consultation. But you may feel more comfortable making this appointment when you read on and learn details about the treatment your dentist may offer to resolve tooth sensitivity.

How Your Dentist Treats Tooth Sensitivity

Diagnose and Treat a Damaged Tooth

If your teeth feel sensitive, this indicates a weakening in your enamel, the outer layer of your tooth, that is exposing underlying nerves. Your dentist will need to examine the affected tooth to determine the type of damage that leads to this condition. This means calling your dentist as soon as you can to schedule an oral exam.

Dental erosion will require intervention from a dentist to treat because thinned or damaged enamel will not regrow or repair itself of its own accord. However, other dental problems might contribute to tooth sensitivity and require treatment.

For instance, a cavity might make your tooth feel sensitive as bacteria eat away at the dental structure. The dentist must treat the tooth decay, and they give you a dental filling to restore the tooth’s health and cover exposed nerves in the process.

If you damage other dental work in your smile, like if a dental filling or crown becomes loose or ill-fitting, then underlying nerves might be in danger of stimulation and pain. A dentist can replace old dental crowns or worn fillings to fix this issue.

Replace Weakened Tooth Enamel

Sometimes enamel erosion will occur without additional oral health problems. Your diet, oral habits, and age can make your teeth weaken or worn to the point they feel sensitive. In this case, you will need to talk to your dentist about how to replace the lost enamel and resolve tooth sensitivity.

A dental filling and some cosmetic solutions like tooth bonding can treat some mild cases of enamel damage. The composite resin in these treatments will cover small amounts of damage and then harden and stay in place to serve as a shield over the vulnerable tooth’s interior.

More extensive levels of dental damage will require more coverage than resin can provide. In these instances, a dentist will use a dental crown to restore the tooth.

The dentist will build a custom cap that fits over the entire surface of the tooth. Its secure hold with dental cement and durable ceramic material ensures long-lasting and reliable restoration of the tooth.

It blocks external items from touching nerves in the tooth so that you can stop sensitivity pain as well. Learn more about restorative dental treatments when you give your dentist a call.