Sensitive Teeth

Do you feel a shooting pain in your teeth when eating or drinking something hot? Does the thought of biting into an ice cream or a cold, hard apple make you wince? Sensitive teeth can be a burden for many people and can be caused by a variety of factors. It is always important to seek advice from a dental professional so that the source of the problem can be identified and treated.

There are several causes of sensitivity:

Temporary pain can be experienced after tooth whitening procedures and is treated with over the counter painkillers.
Dental erosion, or the loss of tooth enamel, can also cause sensitivity. Enamel is the hard outer coating of a tooth that protects the sensitive dentine underneath. If enamel is worn away or eroded, this dentine is exposed which can lead to pain and sensitivity, which can be worsened with extreme temperatures.
Erosion can be caused by your diet (frequent consumption of high sugar or high acid food or drink), tooth brushing habits (brushing too hard), tooth grinding, certain medical conditions and eating disorders.

For top tips on protecting your enamel and for effective treatment of tooth sensitivity, come to the practice for a check-up and we will create an individualised care plan for you.

Tooth Grinding

Tooth Grinding/ Toothwear

Tooth grinding (Bruxism) and tooth clenching is incredibly common and can cause a variety of severe problems, including teeth wearing down and cracking, through to jaw joint pain (TMD) and migraine. Unfortunately teeth can be very badly worn and broken by these nighttime habits so it is very important to treat the cause, as well as to restore the affected teeth.

Our dentists are very experienced in dealing with these issues. David has had a case of tooth wear that he treated with composite bonding presented in a national newspaper!

Very commonly a night guard or bite splint is needed to protect the teeth at night. There are a variety of methods used to restore the lost tooth substance, however the 108 Dental team prefer the most minimally invasive methods such as composite bonding.

Acid Erosion

People's teeth are commonly affected by acid erosion. Acids from either dietary sources such as citrus fruit/juices and fizzy drinks, or medical problems, such as acid reflux or heartburn, can erode the teeth by slowly dissolving the enamel.

Our dentists can monitor acid erosion with digital photographs or study models of your teeth. We are able to restore the teeth that have been eroded with no-preparation bonding that does not need any drilling and commonly not even local anaesthetic injections are required.