Very curious as I was doing some toothpaste shopping. I’ve recently started having sensitive teeth and would like to know if it works and how. Thank you
In: Biology
The nerve cells in our teeth transmit pain signals *electrochemically*.
Normally, when there’s no pain, the nerve cells maintain a slight negative voltage potential (-70 mV) between the inside of cell vs. the outside of the cell. They do so by regulating the flow of Potassium (K+) and Sodium (Na+) ions.
When nerve cells want to signal “pain”, they let excess the Potassium ions (K+) inside the cells to flow out (and conversely, let excess Na+ ions outside the cells to flow in). This “de-polarizes” the nerve cell and we feel “ouch!”
Sensitive-teeth toothpaste basically work by flooding the outside of the nerves with K+ ions, from its active ingredient Potassium Nitrate.
This stops the “pain signaling” from working. The abundance of K+ ions outside the nerve cells stops the K+ ions inside the cells from flowing out. So the nerve cells can’t “de-polarize” and the “pain signal” can’t be transmitted. No signal, no pain.
If you look at your teeth under a microscope, especially the root surface, it’s like looking at a windowscreen. Lots of little holes, or “tubules”. Sensitive teeth toothpaste has an ingredient that seals the tubules so nothing can go through them and hit the nerve of the tooth.
It’s like clear coat nail polish, it seals everything up. However, the best way to use sensitivity paste is to put it on your finger and directly apply it to the sensitive areas and let it sit there as long as you can. Like an ointment. Much more efficacious than simply brushing with it once or twice a day. Most sensitivity toothpastes work very well for sensitivity, but are not great for actually cleaning your teeth. They start working about two weeks after daily use, and will stop working when you stop using it.
Apparently it actually deadens the nerve endings so you dont feel the pain.
In most cases the pain is due to the sensitive area under your gumline being exposed due to your gums receding or channels, exposed areas caused by tooth decay. This kind of toothpaste gets in there and mildy deadens the nerves.
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