Television ads and dental aisles often promote toothpaste intended for people with sensitive teeth. However, you may have wondered if they're really right for you if you have sensitive teeth. Depending on your situation, the answer may be yes or no. Read on to learn more about sensitive teeth toothpaste and whether they're a good choice for you.

Sensitive Toothpastes Help Dull Pain

The good news is, sensitive toothpastes can definitely help to dull pain in sensitive teeth. The way this works is that your teeth have a component called tubules. Tubules are responsible for sending information to your brain from your teeth. When your teeth are touched, bumped, or encounter something that's extremely cold or hot, the tubules send a signal to the brain to let you know. This allows you to know something is going on so you can take action to prevent your teeth from being injured.

Reasons Why Teeth Become Sensitive

When your teeth are healthy, the tubules in your teeth send signals to your brain for things like pressure. For example, if you bite down, you'll get a signal that there's pressure on your teeth. Tubules will also send signals if your teeth encounter something dangerous that could hurt them, like an extremely hot substance.

However, when your teeth are damaged, these tubules are closer to the surface. Enamel normally shields them from excessive stimulation. Damaged teeth have less enamel, so tubules aren't as well-protected. Therefore, even mildly cold or hot foods send painful signals to your brain, even if there's no way that they have an extreme enough temperature to hurt you.

See a Dentist First

While sensitive toothpastes can dull the discomfort you're feeling, it's worth seeing a dentist if you haven't already. Having sensitive teeth means that there's most likely damage to your teeth that need dental care. Trying to patch the problem with sensitive toothpaste if you haven't gotten a dental examination first could exacerbate the problem.

One of the ways you can potentially cope with having sensitive teeth is to use a sensitive toothpaste. However, it's only a good idea if you've already seen a dentist. In addition, dentists may be able to repair your teeth so that they're not sensitive, to begin with. If you're putting off seeing a dentist and are trying to use sensitive toothpaste to fix your problem, it's a better idea to see a dentist first and to see what recommendations they have for you.