🥶 Oral Health Tools

Sensitive Teeth Checker

Answer questions about your tooth sensitivity - when it happens, how long it lasts, and what triggers it. Get the most likely cause and a management plan.

Trigger Analysis Duration Assessment Likely Cause Treatment Options
Sensitive Teeth Checker
Identify the cause - the treatment depends entirely on it
About the Sensitivity
Additional Symptoms and History

🥶 Sensitivity Assessment

Management Plan
Disclaimer: Sensitivity lasting more than a few seconds, spontaneous pain, or pain after recent dental work should be assessed by a dentist. This tool provides general guidance only - not a clinical diagnosis.

What the duration of sensitivity tells your dentist

The single most diagnostically important piece of information about tooth sensitivity is how long the pain lasts after the stimulus. This is what separates reversible from irreversible pulpitis - and reversible from root canal territory.

Brief sensitivity resolving in a few seconds is typical of dentine hypersensitivity - exposed dentine tubules reacting to temperature or osmotic change. This is the most common form and responds well to desensitising toothpaste and fluoride treatment. Pain lingering for 30 seconds or more after cold, or lingering after removing a hot stimulus, suggests irreversible pulpitis - the nerve is inflamed and dying. Spontaneous pain with no trigger needed means the nerve is likely already in the process of dying. Both need professional assessment and often root canal treatment.

Use our Pain Level Tracker to log your sensitivity patterns before your appointment - this clinical history is genuinely useful for diagnosis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, for dentine hypersensitivity - the most common type. Toothpastes containing potassium nitrate (Sensodyne, Colgate Sensitive) work by depolarising the nerve endings in dentine tubules, reducing their ability to transmit pain signals. They need consistent use for 2-4 weeks to build up effect. Stannous fluoride toothpastes (Sensodyne Repair and Protect) additionally occlude the dentine tubules physically. For the best result: apply a pea-sized amount directly to sensitive areas and leave it on after brushing without rinsing.
Post-filling sensitivity is common and usually temporary. Composite resin fillings can cause a brief period of sensitivity from the curing shrinkage and the tooth's inflammatory response to drilling. This typically resolves within 1-4 weeks. If the filling is "high" (slightly proud of the bite), it will cause sensitivity on biting that only resolves once the filling is adjusted - call your dentist for a quick bite check. Sensitivity lasting more than 6-8 weeks after a filling, especially to heat, suggests the pulp may have been significantly compromised and needs reassessment.

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