Many of us battle the everyday struggle that is, having sensitive teeth. It can affect more than just our teeth; our diets are constrained by the foods we can and can’t eat and we endure a lot of pain if we venture outside of our non-sensitive foods safety zone.

So what causes us to have sensitive teeth?

 

It all happens when our dentin layer underneath our enamel becomes exposed to hot, cold, sweet or spicy food and drink. This can also happen to the cementum layer covering our roots when it becomes exposed. 

Exposure to these areas of our teeth can happen from lack of dental hygiene and good practise in brushing causing our teeth to weaken, or issues such as receding gum lines due to old age. You may not even realise you’re causing your teeth to become sensitive by grinding your teeth when stressed or when asleep.  

The most common reason for our teeth to become over sensitive is brushing too hard or too often with abrasive toothpastes or toothpastes made with harsh chemicals.

Things to avoid eating and drinking with sensitive teeth

 

Although you can reduce the sensitivity in your teeth over time, it’s good to know which foods and drinks you should avoid in the meantime and so not to make the situation worse. If your teeth sensitivity is a new issue and has started abruptly, this will usually go away just as quickly; you may have weakened your teeth with a weekend of drinking too much acidic foods or fizzy drink, or you may have even just brushed too hard with a new toothbrush. 

Here is a list of things to avoid during this time:

• Citrus fruits - lemons, oranges etc 
• Ice creams and ice lollies
• Fruit juices and milkshakes
• Hot drinks - tea or coffee
• Hard boiled sweets
• Sour sweets 
• Tough chewy foods
• Ice in cold drinks
• Alcohol - wines and spirits 
• Fizzy drinks

Ways you can naturally build up resilience to sensitivity

 

If you’ve been struggling with sensitive teeth for a while then you’ve probably already tried loads of different approaches to helping your teeth grow stronger and become less sensitive. A long term sensitivity in your teeth will, in turn, take a long time to heal. This may be something that you grow out of - if you’re under 25 your teeth are still young and may not have formed a thick enough protective layer of enamel yet. Here are some of our tried and tested methods of helping with sensitive teeth. 

1. If you think you’ve been grinding your teeth at night, you might wake up with a stiff jaw and some aching in your mouth and gums. A trip to the dentist and you will be able to identify if your teeth have been ground down at all. A great way to help prevent this is through wearing a mouthguards to bed. This is really similar to mouthguards for post brace wearers and can be found online.
    
2. Stop using toothpastes made with harsh chemicals. You can find out what we are actually putting in our mouths in one of our other blog posts. This discusses the different chemicals and ingredients used in toothpastes that give it the white, blue or red colours, or foaming abilities; which are all well and good for an aesthetically pleasing brush, but in reality, not so good for your teeth and gums.
   
   
3. Make the switch to natural toothpaste as an alternative. Now we don’t mean to boast, but we use organic certified ingredients and only naturally derived ingredients in our toothpastes. With using natural toothpastes over time your teeth will have the ability to grow a stronger, reinforced barrier against food and drink that cause sensitivity.
   
   
4. Try a softer bristled toothbrush. It may just be a simple change that could have you biting into ice cream like its toast. The harder you brush, doesn’t mean the cleaner your teeth - it just means the more micro tears you will endure.
   
   
5. Your diet may be to blame for your sensitive teeth, if you’re a regular fizzy drink-drinker or enjoy citrus fruits on a regular basis then your teeth may not get a chance to breath with all the exciting flavours and acidity swishing around your mouth. Try opting for foods that are rich in Vitamin A and vitamin D, these both promote healthier stronger teeth and bones.

Georganics products for people with sensitive teeth

 

Mineral-rich Toothpaste - Spearmint 
Why do we recommend it? 
Spearmint oil is a strong antiseptic, so this toothpaste will help eliminate germs and promotes healing in your gums. This product also has a mineral-rich formula, promoting remineralisation in your teeth. As with all our ranges, our Spearmint Natural toothpaste is free from Fluoride, SLS & Glycerin.