Why are My Teeth Sensitive After My Dental Visit?
If you’re heading to the dentist for a regular cleaning treatment, you should expect your teeth to feel sensitive afterward, especially if a deep cleaning was performed. These sensations will fade over time, leaving your gums and teeth healthier. However, if your teeth continue feeling sensitive longer than usual after a treatment, your dental professional can offer some advice and help, which will likely include the following tips.
Deep Cleaning Treatment
When rough bacteria like tartar calcify on the teeth, a deep cleaning treatment is the best method for eliminating the issue. Tartar develops near or on the gum line, and your dentist or a dental hygienist reacts by removing it via certain tools during a process known as scaling. The hygienist could also use root planing, a process that involves using tools between the tooth roots and gums and removing tartar and plaque from the tooth’s root surfaces.
Prior to deep-cleaning sessions, the gums might be swollen and inflamed, and there may be deep, bacteria-infected pockets. Both root planing and scaling help in treating these issues, but they can also cause natural bleeding and discomfort. The dentist can offer local anesthetics if the deep cleaning treatment is more likely to be irritating.
The Next Stage
General soreness, bleeding gums, and sensitive teeth are fairly normal after a deep cleaning treatment. Some of the effects are the result of the actual cleaning tools touching the inflamed, easy-to-bleed gums. Another side effect is freshly exposed parts of your teeth that were covered with plaque and tartar previously. With the gums having receded, removing the tartar exposes the tooth’s roots, and it can take a while for the tooth to get used to it. These spots aren't protected by enamel, this making them more sensitive.
Sensitive Teeth
Per the American Dental Association, uncomfortable, sensitive, and bleeding teeth after a deep cleaning shouldn’t last more than one week. Tender, bleeding, or swollen gums improve overtime gradually as long as you brush both regularly and carefully. For most dental patients, however, general discomfort from a dental cleaning disappears over one to two days. Sensitivity in the teeth is simply more difficult to avoid in your regular daily life, especially when you eat or drink cold or hot foods and liquids, bite down, and brush. However, as stated previously, it should only be an issue for a one week at most.
Tooth Care After a Deep Cleaning
Taking proper care of the teeth following your deep cleaning can greatly help the gums heal, because it reduces the usual triggers for sensitivity and pain. You should wait about 24 hours before you floss, and you should brush your teeth very carefully using a toothbrush with soft bristles while the gums are sore. Use toothpaste for your sensitive teeth in order to treat and help prevent sensitivity. Also, try to avoid liquids or foods that could set off sensitivity. If your teeth remain sensitive three to four weeks following the treatment or if you have additional concerns, you should contact your dental professional, who can check to see how the healing is progressing.
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