The Human Biology in Medical Field

Not everyone can enjoy a delicious cold drinks and ice cream, even if they may tend to avoid. The reason? Tooth feels very stiff on contact with water ice cold. In some people, teeth may also feel pain when exposed to wind, or when exposed to acidic foods. This is often considered trivial, and patients rarely come to the dentist to fix because they assume this is not a serious health problem. Though this problem deserves attention and not be left alone, hoping it would disappear by itself.

Actually the term is not very precise tooth hypersensitivity. In dentistry, this phenomenon is known as dentine hipersensitivity. Not every sense of pain caused by hypersensitivity. Caries (cavities) that reached the dentin can also cause the sensation of pain when teeth come into contact with food / drink cold or sweet and sour. Besides it can also because of tooth fracture, secondary caries that occur under fillings.

In order to understand the mechanism of tooth hypersensitivity, we should see more anatomy of teeth. Teeth consist of layers. Outer tooth structure is the hardest, called email. Email can be hard because it is composed of hydroxy apatite crystals. Under the emails contained dentin layer consisting of tubule or pores, and is much softer than email. Dentine adjacent to the pulp chamber that contains the nerve fibers. The tip of these nerve fibers is located at the tip of the dentine tubule. If there is a stimulus, nerve fibers located in the dentin tubule tip will be stimulated, then arises the sense of pain. Examples of this stimuli such as thermal stimulation (heat / cold), especially cold. Teeth can also become hypersensitive after whitening procedures dental / dental bleaching.

A moment of sharp pain in the teeth is absolutely no dental caries or other abnormalities are characteristic of dentin hypersensitivity. Typically, the areas most frequently experience hypersensitivity is a tooth neck area, especially on the surface of the teeth facing the lips. As seen in the picture above, the dentine in the tooth neck is thinner. In areas not covered with a layer of roots email. So when an email in the neck area experiencing tooth abrasion, dentin will open automatically and can lead to dentine hypersensitivity.

Calculus / tartar accumulate initially in the neck area of teeth and gums over time can be a recession / decline as more and more buildup of calculus. After scaling (tartar cleaning), usually a tooth ache, because the root surface that had been closed by now tartar and dentin into the open net.
Dentine hypersensitivity can also occur in a physiological (natural), namely the elderly in which the gums are generally declining or gingival recession. Gingival recession is increasing with age.

It can be seen in the figure, the surface of the gums which should cover the roots decreased so that the root is open. Teeth so looks as if it is longer.

Prevention of dentine hypersensitivity

Raw foods such erosive nature of acid fruits, fruit juices are acidic, and alcoholic beverages play a role in dentine hypersensitivity. Arising from the stomach acid in people with digestive problems are also prone to having dentine hypersensitivity. In addition, brushing with abrasive toothpaste can also mengabrasi dentin surface in the neck area of teeth. Therefore, it is not advisable to brush your teeth immediately after consuming food / drink acid to reduce the damaging effects of acid and abrasion. Should be given the lag time between 2-3 hours. Brushing teeth is also not necessary with excessive pressure and do the vertical direction from top to bottom.

Treatment of dentine hypersensitivity

Treatment of dentine hypersensitivity can be done at home or by a dentist in the practice.

* Treatment at home

Patients can reduce dentine hypersensitivity in a house with a toothpaste and mouthwash containing certain active ingredients. Most of the desensitization of toothpaste on the market today contain potassium salts such as potassium nitrate, potassium chloride, or potassium citrate. Consumers demanded keen in selecting material toothpaste that claims to reduce tooth hypersensitivity. Has done studies that tested the effectiveness of toothpastes containing potassium citrate. Potassium ions are believed to diffuse into the dentin tubule and reduces the likelihood terstimulasinya nerves, so that dentine hypersensitivity is reduced.

Many toothpastes that also contain other active ingredients such as fluoride and antiplak material. Topical fluoride application to make a barrier on the tooth surface with the formation of precipitates of calcium fluoride (CaF2) so that the dentin tubule closed. The result can be reduced dentin hypersensitivity.

How to brush your teeth also noteworthy. Most people rinse his mouth after brushing your teeth. Actually gargle-gargle do not need too much because gargle with water can cause the active ingredient to be dissolved and cast out of his mouth so that the effectiveness of the toothpaste to be reduced.

* Treatment by a dentist

To reduce dentine hypersensitivity, desensitization dentist applying materials that aim to close the dentinal tubule, thereby reducing hypersensitivity. Such materials may contain fluoride, or potassium nitrate, or other active ingredients. However, desensitization agents usually do not last too long, the effect is only temporary.
Besides it can also be treated by using adhesive materials, including varnish, or the dentin that open at the neck and roots of teeth covered with patchwork materials.