You are here looking for the no BS answer to the question: Why Do My Teeth Hurt When I Eat Sweets?
Tooth pain can be gut-wrenching. This is especially true when your teeth hurt while having sweets or desserts. Unfortunately, sugary substances can damage teeth, making them prone to sensitivity.
Nonetheless, considering that a healthy human tooth can handle 30,000 pounds of extensive force it’s reasonable to be curious about what causes such structures to get weak and hurt?
Almost everyone is a fan of pretty gummy bears, cotton candies, and hundreds of colorful candies available out there. The harsh truth is that ingesting sweet delicacies while overlooking consistent oral hygiene can be detrimental to your oral health.
Read on to garner insightful information about tooth sensitivity, its treatment, and prevention tips to help relieve teeth pain after eating sweets.
Why Do My Teeth Hurt When I Eat Sweets?
Everything sweet comes with a price. If you are a huge fan of dessert after the main course, you must also know how it might harm your teeth if not handled carefully.
Sugar sensitivity is the core reason for your tooth pain while eating sweets. As already outlined, eating sweets without proper oral hygiene over a while can cause plaque, which erodes the enamel of your teeth, making them prone to various gum problems, cavities, and enamel loss.
1. Enamel Loss
Teeth that have become sensitive react to eating and drinking sweet, causing uncomfortable sharp sensation which can last for 3 to 5 seconds. Teeth damage can cause high sensitivity to sugar. This is primarily due to the loss of enamel, the tooth’s outermost hard and protective layer.
Rigorous brushing and consuming acidic food are the most prevalent causes of enamel loss. Therefore, It’s vital to brush with an appropriate soft bristle toothbrush and limit the consumption of acidic foods and beverages such as citrus fruits, coffee, and pickles.
2. Tooth Decay
Sugar accumulation in your mouth causes bacteria that feed on the sugar to form a sticky film called plaque on the teeth and gums. The plaque has an acidic concentration which causes demineralization of the enamel. Subsequent erosion of enamel causes tooth decay and cavities.
As a result, bacteria and acid can easily penetrate the teeth, reaching the inner soft dentin. Tooth decay causes cavities, exposing the tooth’s sensitive layer. Therefore, when you ingest sweets and sugary foods, they contact the nerves, causing sharp pain.
3. Gingivitis (Gum Disease)
Plaque buildup can lead to gum disease as it hardens and becomes tartar which creates swelling, bleeding, inflammation and infection. Inflamed sore gum tissues increase sensitivity since it exposes the tooth’s root, where the nerves are located.
5. Receding Gums
As you get older, your gums start to recede. This exposes the teeth’s roots since the gums can’t cover the jaw bone and protect all the roots. Cigarette smoking, aggressive tooth brushing, gum disease, and poor oral hygiene are the chief causes of receding gums.
Learn more about receding gums: I Have Receding Gums From Braces
6. Teeth Whitening
Most teeth whitening agents contain bleach and hydrogen peroxide, which have to penetrate the tooth and reach the dentin inside for effective whitening results. Constant teeth whitening, in turn, weakens the enamel causing your teeth to be hyper-sensitive.
Also see: How Often Should You Whiten Your Teeth?
How Does It Feel?
If you have sensitive teeth, cavities, or any sort of gum disease, eating sweet, cold, and hot food may cause a tingling sensation in your mouth, called sensitivity.
- Throbbing pain
- Strong ache
- Tingling sensation
- Discomfort in eating
Prevention
Here are a few tips to save you from deadly pain and sensitivity –
- Keep a check on your sugar intake
- Floss your teeth regularly
- Avoid midnight snacking
- Brush your teeth twice and surely before bedtime
- Say no to alcohol-based mouth wash
- Go for a regular dental cleanup.
Treatments
In case of minor sensitivity, opt for a tooth passed designed for sensitive teeth.
However, if the damage is severe, then the eroded tooth enamel may require dental bonding.
Go for a dental filling if you have cavities; this is done by scraping out the cavity and filling the space with a dental filling.
Gum problems require the removal of plague, scaling, and deep cleaning.
Think twice before going for a tooth whitening treatment because your slightly yellow teeth are perfectly healthy. However, if you still wish to get whitening done, avoid sweets, hot and cold food for a few days. This sensitivity is temporary and will get better within a few days.
Conclusion
Our teeth help us enjoy all the delicious food, but we often take them for granted. Pay close attention to your teeth to keep them healthy in the long run. Improper cleaning and ignorance can lead to gum disease and cavities. In some cases, when the infection reaches the root, you might lose a tooth, which is very expensive.
So save your money and your teeth by taking proper care and do visit the dentist every six months for a cleanup. This way, you will never run out of teeth to enjoy gummy bears even in your old age.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Stop Your Toothache After Eating Sweets?
Use a toothpaste designed sensitivity in teeth. For example, you can put cloves in between your teeth gently and let them dissolve slowly. If the problem persists, visit your dentist as soon as possible.
How Much Does A Dental Filling Cost?
Silver amalgam fillings are affordable and cost between $50 to $150. Gold or porcelain filling is expensive and cost between $250 to $4500. Composite resin filling costs between $90 to $250.
How Do You Temporarily Numb A Toothache?
Put an ice compress on the affected area for a few minutes until the area feels numb.
Why Do My Teeth Hurt When I Bite Down?
A Painful tooth every time you bite down is a clear indication that something is wrong and necessitates urgent treatment. There are several reasons behind tooth pain when you bite down. Enamel erosion, cavities, dental abscess, and nasal congestion are why your teeth hurt when you bite down.
