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Do your teeth hurt when you eat cold or warm foods? Intense flavors make you put the plate away in fear of unpleasant sensations? If so, you are suffering from tooth sensitivity. Although this ailment affects more and more Poles, we know how to deal with it. And it is lightning fast. All thanks to arginine – an amino acid that is extremely effective in relieving pain.
Tooth sensitivity is a problem that can affect virtually anyone, and the older we get, the higher the risk of its occurrence. The first symptoms of hypersensitivity usually appear between the ages of 25 and 30. In Poland, about 30% of the population suffer from this ailment, and it affects every third person globally. However, we are not defenseless in the face of tooth hypersensitivity. To know how to fight it, we need to understand the source of the problem.
What is tooth sensitivity?
Our teeth, although designed for everyday intensive use and resistant to abrasion, have limits of strength and weaker sides. When the teeth are healthy, the enamel and gums act as a natural protective barrier, shielding the porous tissue called dentin. Under the microscope, it can be seen that it is composed of numerous dentinal tubules with nerve endings leading to the pulp of the tooth. It is the exposure of the dentin, caused by the erosion of the enamel or the recession of the gum resulting in the exposed root, that causes the teeth to ache in contact with strong thermal or taste stimuli.
Of course, the scale of this phenomenon depends on the number of tubules, which are exposed to external stimuli without protection. An additional factor increasing the risk of tooth hypersensitivity is non-carious enamel defects, mainly due to the effects of acids present in food. In comprehensive ESCARCEL studies on tooth hypersensitivity, 28 percent. of hypersensitive patients stated that it negatively affects not only their immediate comfort, but also their level of satisfaction with life.
What leads to tooth sensitivity?
Although the causes of tooth sensitivity are varied, in the vast majority of cases our lifestyle and bad habits are important. We are talking here primarily about improper oral hygiene, or the lack of adaptation of the hardness of the brush and the abrasiveness of the toothpaste to our needs. We often brush our teeth with a brush that is too hard, making horizontal movements, damaging the gums and exposing the tooth roots. Teeth whitening with home methods, without consulting a dentist, biting hard objects (e.g. the tip of a pen), or biting nails can also lead to the exposure of dentin.
Our eating habits are also important here. The use of uncoated vitamin C, eating acidic products and drinking carbonated drinks have a negative impact on the cohesion of the enamel. Due to the high acidity in the oral cavity, pregnant women and people suffering from bulimia are exposed to tooth sensitivity, exposing their teeth to gastric juices that destroy enamel by frequent vomiting. Of course, there are also a number of reasons that are not directly related to a change in lifestyle or diet. These include all kinds of tooth micro-damage, teeth grinding in a dream (bruxism) or periodontitis.
Arginine – an amino acid that will relieve pain
There are many ways to combat tooth sensitivity in the dental market. These include, above all, specialist pastes, gels, and mouth rinses. They usually include all kinds of calcium, potassium, fluorine compounds, proteins, hydroxyapatites or herbal substances. However, not all of them are similarly effective. Against this background, arginine (naturally occurring, for example, in meat and dairy products) and calcium carbonate stand out. The complex of arginine and calcium carbonate closes the dentinal tubules, thus cutting off the flow of stimuli to the nerve endings located in them.
Arginine is an amino acid that occurs naturally in the human body, in living organisms it mainly participates in nitrogen metabolism. Additionally, it has a positive pH charge of 6,5-7,5. Why is this important? Research on this topic has shown that a positive amino acid is attracted to negatively charged dentin, thereby helping to create a “protective shield” of calcium and phosphorus on its surface, shielding enamel-free dentinal tubules. Arginine in contact with calcium carbonate creates an alkaline environment rich in endogenous calcium and phosphorus ions, which favors additional sealing of the tubules, through which unwanted stimuli reach the innervated tooth pulp.
Concrete results
For all people suffering from chronic or occasional tooth hypersensitivity, the good news is that the effectiveness of arginine-containing medicinal products has been proven in many scientific studies. In June 2015, the results of research into a paste rich in arginine and calcium carbonate were published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology. Its effectiveness turned out to be surprising, because the surveyed patients indicated in the questionnaire an immediate reduction of the pain level by 60%. Interestingly, this condition lasted up to six weeks after the application of the preparation. The study was conducted among patients with advanced periodontal diseases, who initially underwent scaling and root planning.