Most sensitivity toothpaste really does work especially in relieving teeth that are sensitive to cold. If you are having sensitivity to heat or sweets, that usually means tooth decay or in some cases even a dying nerve inside of your tooth. Toothpaste won’t fix those types of symptoms. Youโll need to see your dentist as soon as possible. But if you’re having cold sensitivity, that’s more common due to things like gum recession, which is, unfortunately, a super common thing in today’s society.
If you want to find the best sensitivity toothpaste, here’s what you need to do.
Regardless of the brand, make sure the toothpaste has the ADA seal of acceptance. It will say it on the box and that way you’ll know that it’s to help with tooth sensitivity in this case whatever they claim is on the packaging. Something to note about that the ADA seal of acceptance usually takes about five years for a product to earn. So there is a chance that the product just isn’t five years old yet.
And if you’re open to trying new products that don’t yet have the seal of approval that’s okay too. You just need to make sure that you look for these two ingredients on the label fluoride and potassium nitrate. Fluoride is very important since it helps to re-mineralize enamel and protect the tooth tubules, which are little pores on your teeth responsible for the sensations that are targeting your tooth nerves. Next to fluoride, the potassium nitrate helps block those pores preventing sensations from coming into contact with the nerves inside of them. As long as those two ingredients are in the toothpaste you’re headed in the right direction.
Be sure to stay clear from any toothpaste that says it’s for whitening.
If it has any peroxide ingredients on the label, whitening toothpaste and peroxide will only make your teeth more sensitive. Now some types of toothpaste for sensitive teeth will be a combination blend that is both for whitening and sensitivity. Itโs super confusing. To explain this, it’s important to understand that these combination toothpaste with both the whitening and sensitivity are not for people with sensitive teeth. They are for people who only have sensitive teeth when using whitening toothpaste.
For example, I never have cold sensitivity. But when I whiten my teeth, sometimes I do get a little sensitive. So the whitening plus sensitivity toothpaste may be an option for someone like me to try. However, it’s really not the best for patients who are looking to treat daily sensitivity. So if that’s you, try to avoid any toothpaste that says whitening on it even if they also say they’re for sensitivity.
Lastly, all whitening aside back to sensitivity.
If you’re curious about how sensitivity toothpaste really works, let me give you a quick rundown. If you have sensitivity due to gum recession. With gum recession, part of your tooth is exposed where the gums have receded. This part of the tooth that is exposed does not have enamel covering its tubules. Tubules are those little pores on your teeth that we were talking about and they shouldn’t be exposed.
But due to the gum recession, they now expose and open and feel anything cold that touches it. Every time you brush your teeth which hopefully is twice a day for two minutes each time, this sensitivity toothpaste that you’re using can cover all of the tooth surfaces. It targets those little pores to help seal them off and make your teeth stronger thus preventing the nerves from any type of external stimuli triggers. Those pores are now filled with the minerals from the sensitivity toothpaste blocking the cold sensation when you eat or drink anything.
Again the two ingredients that do this are fluoride and potassium nitrate. It usually takes about 14 days using sensitivity toothpaste before it produces a full result. For best results, brush your teeth with the toothpaste and then spit it out. Make sure you spit and then after don’t rinse it away with water. Letting the residual toothpaste sit on your teeth overnight is best, so those ingredients have more time to work.
