How to deal with sensitive teeth

Bits of ME

For how long can you keep your mouth open? I kept mine open for over an hour and if curing my cavities meant not zipping up, I would have offered myself for another extra day!

As I write, 16 of my teeth played a number on me.

I hope it's not too late for you to pick a leaf. Since my senior, I have had no relief – sensitive teeth. A couple of dentists, consultancy fees here and there…the result was constant.

The recommendations were a sea: the magical fluoride paste I religiously used.

But during the cold and  warm weather, I was occasioned with the feeling that perhaps I didn’t have teeth for once (the one thing I adore so much).

Twenty years later, I stumbled on the right treatment; meeting Uganda's first periodontist. He had discovered that the excessive pressure I employ (perhaps a result of too much love for my teeth) during brushing had brought my years of discomfort.

Bits of YOU

The dentists call it a cold jet of air. I will call it the ‘nightmare on teeth street’, that causes hyper sensitivity according to Dr. Mbabaali Muhammad, Uganda's first Periodontist.

I hated it; when it was unleashed on my teeth street, pain reigned on the suspected teeth surfaces and Dr. Mbabaali made the diagnosis: tooth brush erosion and in other cases it can be chemical erosion or abrasive wear.

Diagnosis of dentine hyper sensitivity clinically is based on physical signs of tooth wear. It can also be reported if a person feels sensitivity after taking hot or cold drinks/foods. They may also report increased teeth sensitivity when exposed to cold weather.

It’s a common condition, Dr. Mbabaali said, mostly seen after 3 years due to the chronic effect of wrong brushing techniques. He said: "As the wear increases, the sensitivity becomes unbearable and persons start appearing in the dental offices for solutions. Four out of 10 adults present with some form of dentine hypersensitivity."

So, are we taking brushing techniques for granted? I also thought I knew it all on brushing!

Dear reader, we could be alike. Hypersensitivity can also be a side effect of other situations like reflux oesophagitis, a condition in which acidic content of the stomach is refluxed back in the mouth.

"Weak enamel structure also causes hyper dentine sensitivity, persons working in chemical industries which produce corrosive products are also at a risk from these side effects," Dr Mbabaali said.

I presented 16 teeth under the tooth brush abrasion diagnosis that triggered dental hyper sensitivity but don’t lose sight of other causes like chipped teeth, fractured restorations and incorrectly placed dental pins, gum recession, vital bleaching among others.

Yet, a simple brushing technique(bass) will excuse you from that heavy price. This is how.

Dr. Mbabali said it includes both the rotary and vibratory motions.

"Angle the toothbrush onto the teeth at 45 and brush from a vibratory motion to push the food off the teeth upwards from the gum to the tooth surface. Insert the bristles in the free gingiva (sulcus of the tooth) - the part of the gum that’s not attached to the tooth so that the bristles can remove the food which is stuck in between the teeth," he said.

The force used to brush must be mild with soft bristles that can gently enter the teeth. So, go buy a soft toothbrush with a smaller head which should reach any part of the mouth.

Since the food we consume is often softened through chewing, Dr. Mbabaali emphasizes that excessive force must not be used in brushing it off- mild force should displace it. In treating dentine hypersensitivity; various methods are used depending on the complexity of pain assessment and nature of the episodic condition.

During my treatment, Dr. Mbabaali applied the joint usage of the desensitisation method and restorative material using the composite and in other cases glass ionomer is used.

In case you are undergoing a similar or related condition he recommends the following treatments:

Over the counter products like Strontium salts, Potassium salts, Oxalates, Fluorides,Sodium citrate pluronic F-127 Gel Professionally applied, Vanishes& precipitants and/Chinese traditional medicines.

Restorative materials like Laser therapy, Iontophoresis, Periodontal surgery, Endodontic& Extraction of teeth.

NB

The financial cost for dentine hypersensitivity where it disrupts one's daily activity using restorative material will range from Shs 70,000 to Shs 150,000 depending on where one goes and material used.

Dr. Muhammad Mbabaali is a periodontist and lecturer at Makerere University College of Health Sciences.