SENSITIVE TOOTH

For millions of people, sensitive teeth can make life miserable. The pain and discomfort make even favorite hot or cold foods impossible to enjoy. All is not lost. In many cases, sensitive teeth can be successfully treated bringing long sought after relief.

Sensitive teeth (Dentin Hypersensitivity) are characterized by a tingling sensation or sharp shooting pain that occurs when you consume food or drink that is very cold, hot or sweet.

Is a taste of ice cream or a sip of hot coffee sometimes a painful experience for you? Does brushing or flossing make you wince occasionally? If so, you may have a common problem called “sensitive teeth.”

You are more likely to feel the sensitivity when drinking or eating something cold, from cold air catching your teeth, and sometimes with hot foods or drinks. Some people have sensitivity when they have sweet or acidic food and drink. The pain can come and go, with some times being worse than others.

The part of the tooth we can see is covered by a layer of enamel that protects the softer dentine underneath. If the dentine is exposed, a tooth can become sensitive. This usually happens where the tooth and the gum meet and the enamel layer is much thinner.

Your dentist will look at your dental history and will examine your mouth. will ask about your oral habits because grinding or clenching your teeth can contribute to sensitivity. Your dentist also will look for tooth decay, deep metal fillings and exposed root surfaces.

Dentists have a variety of regimens to manage tooth hypersensitivity, including both in-office treatments and patient-applied products for home use. If you are diagnosed with dentin hypersensitivity, your dentist may apply a desensitizing agent or a protective coating.

You may be prescribed a stannous fluoride gel or an over-the-counter desensitizing toothpaste containing fluoride and either potassium nitrate or strontium chloride. These ingredients help block transmission of sensation from the tooth to the nerve. It also might help to massage the special paste onto your gums with your finger after brushing.

How to Prevent Sensitive Teeth:

• Brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste. Use small circular movements with a soft- to medium-bristled brush. Try to avoid brushing your teeth from side to side.

• Change your toothbrush every two to three months, or sooner if it becomes worn.

• Have sugary foods, and fizzy and acidic drinks less often. Try to have them only at mealtimes.

• If you grind your teeth, talk to your dentist about the possibility of having a mouthguard made to wear at night.

• If you are thinking about having your teeth bleached, discuss sensitivity with your dentist before starting treatment.

• Visit your dentist at least once a year for a check up.

BLEEDING GUMS

Bleeding gums is among the common conditions affecting the oral cavity. It leads to diseases of soft tissue surrounding the teeth.

The problem still continues to affect us even with so many modern facilities available in the field of oral care.

Now let me explain you the factors causing bleeding:

• Poor maintenance of the teeth such as inadequate brushing or failure to rinse the mouth after meals results in a thin layer of food and bacteria covering the tooth surface that is termed plaque and calculus that is mineralized bacterial plaque. The bacterium is the chief culprit behind the inflammation. The gums during the stage of infection becomes soft, spongy and swollen.
• Trauma to the gums by hard brushing or tooth picking with sharp objects result in gingival bleeding. 
• Bleeding can also be due to injury of the gums by sharp food item. 
• Hot food and chemicals can end up burning the gums, further resulting in bleeding. Certain rapidly spreading infections can damage the blood vessels of the gums resulting in bleeding. 
• Deficiency of Vitamin C causes problems with the blood vessels, hence causing bleeding in the gums. Ancient sailors are known to suffer from this problem until someone came up with the bright idea of stocking oranges during travel. As we know orange is a rich source of Vitamin C.

Bleeding gums may occur with or without associated pain. The pain if present is usually dull in nature.Bleeding is usually noticed during brushing or in the saliva while spitting. Eating of any coarse food items may induce bleeding.

Know how bleeding gums are treated:

If long standing inflammation is the cause of bleeding then removal of the source of bacteria will result in improvement of the situation.

Proper maintenance of the teeth by the patient reduces bleeding in initial stages. If the bleeding is severe then professional help is required. You can approach your dentist for professional cleaning of your teeth i.e scaling. You can also use medicated toothpastes that would control bleeding to some extent.

WISDOM TEETH

Wisdom teeth are the last erupting teeth in humans. Its with the eruption of these teeth our dentition is completed. They erupt two in the upper jaw, one on either side and two in lower jaw,one on either side.
Now you must be surprised why they are called so, it is because they generally erupt during late teens or early twenties.But many times our jaws are not large enough to accommodate these teeth and its why they cause more problems in mouth than any other teeth.

Now let me explain you what kind of problems we exactly come across with these so called ''wisdom teeth''.
when these teeth are blocked from erupting,its termed impaction. A common problem face among many of us.
Sometimes it partially comes out and then cause pain, infection, damage to the adjacent teeth, crowding of teeth. But then sometimes its totally impacted.

We generally experience pain because these partly erupted teeth are difficult to clean and the accumulated food particles cause the gums around the tooth to get infected, this infection reflects as pain and swelling around the area.

Let me give you some remedies to overcome the pain that often disturbs our routine:

• Try chewing gum on the side where you are experiencing pain for it massages the paining area and may give a temporary relief.

• Use a topical numbing agent.These topicals are available in any pharmacy.All you have to do is apply the numbing gel in the paining area to numb the site upto thirty minutes at a time.

• Try a warm saltwater rinse.

Finally if all these tips doesnt work out then you always do have a dentist to solve your problem.
When you visit a dentist you are initially treated with pain relieving medicaments.
And if still the pain persists your dentist may insist you on removal of the particular tooth.

There is absolutely nothing to panic,as these teeth merely play any role in any of the normal functions. Extraction can be a permenant solution for the problem.