There is a contentious statement if ever there was one, but apparently it is backed up consumer research so who am I to disagree? If like me you have passed the ‘sensitive’ toothpaste section of the supermarket and thought it didn’t apply to you, think again because it’s not just younger women who are suffering. One of the hazards of getting older is that gums shrink and your tooth enamel becomes thinner, two conditions that make you more vulnerable to sensitivity to heat and cold – and toothache.
Arm & Hammer, who have just launched their own Enamel Care Senstive Toothpaste, surveyed 937 men and women and found:
- Women find the pain of sensitive teeth worse than period pains
- Women surveyed found pain of sensitive teeth second to childbirth
- 1 in 4 people have taken time off work to visit the dentist due to the pain of sensitivity
- Women are the hardiest with just 18% taking time off compared to 36% of men
Refraining from any comment on that last bullet point – but I agree with it – and according to Dr James Goolnik BDS MSc, “ A common reason patients come and visit my dental practice is in relation to tooth sensitivity. Everyday food that is hot, cold, sweet or sour can cause acid erosion and trigger tooth sensitivity. Excessive force when brushing exposes soft dentine and dentine tubules, allowing stimuli to reach nerves within the tooth and cause pain.”
Other factors play in too, such as our love of sugar and, in particular, our modern diet as it is much more acidic than our ancestral, pre-agricultural one. As a result, enamel erosion has become an increasingly common problem and sending us to the dentist, or for painkillers, far more often.
It might also help to consider switching to a toothpaste that will help the problem and with Enamel Care Sensitive the Arm & Hammer people think they done just that. It uses Liquid Calcium® technology to help restore and re-mineralise surface enamel and the patented formula is clinically proven to fix the cause of sensitivity by sealing exposed dentine, to provide up to 16 weeks pain relief, not just a masking of the pain. Would you could get that from period pain!
Arm & Hammer of course are best known for their use of baking soda in their toothpaste as it is a natural cleansing agent that breaks down in brushing to reach deep down into the microscopic crevices on the tooth surface, giving stain removal and whitening without the abrasive silica that other toothpastes use. My Granny knew nothing of that but never bought a tube of toothpaste in her lfie and used a large and economical tin of baking soda for dual purpose cooking and cleaning – so clearly a woman ahead of her time.
Last word
A toothpaste can only do so much and Dr James Goolnik advises that if your sensitivity is not reduced after two weeks you should consult your dentist to see if there is another cause, such as a cavity. If you want even more toothsome information you can find it at www.armandhammer.co.uk