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"Studies indicate that
between 40 and 60 million
Americans complain of having
sensitive teeth. the culprit is
usually overzealous brushing
which gradually wears away gum
tissue and exposes tooth
roots."
Dr. Walter
Cohen, D.D.S., Dean Emeritus,
University of Pennsylvania School of
Dental Medicine,
Shape Magazine, August
1995
If you experience pain or
discomfort after eating cold foods you may
be one of the millions of people who suffer
from tooth sensitivity (dentin
hypersensitivity).
Tooth sensitivity (dentin
hypersensitivity) can make enjoying your
favorite foods nearly impossible. People
suffering from tooth sensitivity can
experience pain or discomfort from many
sources including breathing cold air,
eating or drinking hot or cold foods,
eating sweet or sour foods, and from a host
of other stimuli.
Surprisingly one of the major causes of
tooth sensitivity is overzealous brushing
(brushing too hard) ! Just under the
surface of each tooth lies a layer of tooth
called the dentin. The dentin contains
small pores or tubules which lead directly
to the nerve of the tooth. Normally the
gums and the outmost cementum layer of
tooth cover the dentin preventing stimuli
from reaching these tubules.
Brushing too hard drives away the
protective gum tissue and the cementum
tooth layer exposing the underlying dentin.
When this happens pain, pressure, and cold
stimuli can travel down the tubules of the
dentin and trigger the tooth nerve causing
pain and discomfort.
The first step to preventing tooth
sensitivity is to prevent recession of the
gums and cementum. The Alert toothbrush
helps prevent overzealous brushing which
leads to destruction of gums and cementum
thus preventing associated tooth
sensitivity.
Once sensitivity has occurred, special
toothpastes can help ease the discomfort.
Several of these create "hatch covers"
which cover the tubules in the exposed
dentin preventing pain and cold stimuli
from reaching and triggering the tooth
nerve.
These products can fail, however,
because the the same heavy handed brushing
techniques, which exposed the tubules of
the dentin in the first place, remove the
"hatch covers" allowing stimuli to once
again reach and travel down the pores of
the dentin.
By using the Alert toothbrush in
combination with these sensitivity
toothpastes, sufferers of sensitive teeth
can assure more complete benefit from the
toothpastes and also prevent gum recession
that can lead to tooth sensitivity in other
areas of the mouth.
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