Sensitivity
Sensitive teeth in Greenwich, CT: a symptom worth naming
Desensitizing toothpaste manages sensitivity, but it does not explain it. Recession, a cracked filling, and an inflamed nerve can all feel similar to you, yet each needs an entirely different treatment.
How urgent is it?
Routine visit
Sooner if the sensitivity lingers more than half a minute after the cold is gone, which suggests the nerve rather than the surface is involved.
Opening hours
Mon–Tue 8a–7p · Wed–Thu 8a–5p · Fri 9a–2p
What this usually means
The causes we see most often
01
Gum recession exposing the root
Root surface has no enamel covering it, so cold reaches the nerve almost directly. It is often worst at the gum line of the canine teeth.
02
Enamel loss from acid or brushing
Hard, horizontal brushing with a stiff brush wears a notch at the neck of the tooth. So does acid, though more diffusely.
03
A leaking filling or a crack
Sensitivity in a single tooth, particularly on biting, tends to point toward a mechanical cause rather than general sensitivity.
04
Recent whitening
Common, temporary, and manageable, but it should settle within a few days rather than persist for weeks.
What to do right now
Before you get here
- 01
Use a soft brush and ease off the scrubbing. Pressure is what keeps a notch deepening over time.
- 02
Try a potassium nitrate toothpaste, and rub a little onto the sensitive spot with a fingertip at night rather than rinsing it away.
- 03
Move acidic drinks to mealtimes and drink them through, rather than sipping over an hour.
- 04
Note whether it is one tooth or several, and whether the ache lingers. That detail is genuinely useful for us to know.
What we would do
At the appointment
We map which teeth respond and for how long, because lingering pain suggests an inflamed nerve and calls for different treatment than surface sensitivity.
Where a specific cause exists, such as a notch, recession, or a failing filling, we treat that directly. A bonded restoration over an exposed root surface often resolves the problem outright.
Where the sensitivity is more general, we treat the surfaces, review your brushing technique and diet, and check the bite for clenching that can make teeth ache with cold.
How we fix it
The treatments this usually leads to
Q & A
What patients ask us about this
Sometimes, which is a good reason to have it examined. But recession and enamel wear cause far more sensitivity than decay does, and both are simpler to treat.
A few days at most. Sensitivity that persists for weeks afterward is not really from the whitening itself; it is something the whitening revealed.
Surface sensitivity often quiets down once the cause is removed. Sensitivity that keeps worsening month by month is heading the wrong direction and should be seen.
Where we are
211 East Putnam Avenue, Suite 2-6, Cos Cob
Minutes from central Greenwich on East Putnam Avenue, with parking at the building.
Patients travel to us from
People often ask about these too
Describe it in your own words when you call. We will tell you whether it needs us today.