[HN Gopher] 'Ice-cream toothache': Cold food and drinks pain exp...
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       'Ice-cream toothache': Cold food and drinks pain explained
        
       Author : vinni2
       Score  : 83 points
       Date   : 2021-03-27 08:12 UTC (14 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.bbc.co.uk)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.bbc.co.uk)
        
       | xutopia wrote:
       | I am currently doing a teeth whitening with peroxide and my teeth
       | are extremely sensitive right now! Anyone else experienced this?
       | Any explanation for this?
        
         | snarfy wrote:
         | Peroxide eats away at the enamel layer. It's not good for your
         | teeth. You might want to combine sensodyne or similar
         | toothpaste with your treatment.
        
       | anoncow wrote:
       | If I start my day with something spicy, my palate often hurts.
       | Switching to something cool and sweet, often takes the
       | pain/discomfort away. Anecdotal.
        
       | phkahler wrote:
       | How do they reconcile these two things:
       | 
       | >> One common home remedy - clove oil - contains a chemical
       | called eugenol that blocks this TRPC5 pathway.
       | 
       | >> The scientists are not recommending DIY treatments though.
       | People who are experiencing any worrying toothache should still
       | see a dentist, they stress.
       | 
       | They want to develop a product, but discourage an existing
       | remedy. They also want to develop a product but say you should
       | see a dentist to get the damage repaired.
        
         | fjeifisjf wrote:
         | They suggest following the guidance of an educated expert.
        
         | throw10123213 wrote:
         | Zinc oxide eugenol has been used by dentists since forever but
         | is now being replaced by other (more expensive) materials.
         | 
         | > They want to develop a product, but discourage an existing
         | remedy.
         | 
         | They can't sell that remedy so they must find something else
         | (patentable).
         | 
         | > They also want to develop a product but say you should see a
         | dentist to get the damage repaired.
         | 
         | Maybe the product is for dentists. It's a big lucrative market
         | with products you literally can't buy over the counter.
         | (Especially since dentists deal with some forbidden substances
         | too).
        
         | ogwh wrote:
         | Eugenol is a local anaesthetic AND a severe irritant. When you
         | apply it to a tooth and it comes in contact with the gum both
         | end up numb. Until it wears off and you have what amounts to
         | chemical burns on your gums. Using eugenol to treat tooth
         | sensitivity isn't worth it.
         | 
         | Do NOT try using eugenol for tooth sensitivity.
        
       | ksec wrote:
       | Finally! I have this problem when I was a kid and teens and it
       | hurts. The back of my brain would be in pain whenever I have ice
       | cream. The effect seems to have lessen as I age though. And my
       | teeth is surely not in great shape as when I was young.
        
       | dwighttk wrote:
       | Seems like blocking the pain should be secondary to rebuilding
       | the enamel.
        
         | julianlam wrote:
         | I was always told that "rebuilding enamel" isn't possible?
         | 
         | I've developed temperature sensitivity as I've aged, and now
         | cold water in the mornings will trigger pain in certain teeth.
         | 
         | It's quite disappointing that the common advice is "brush twice
         | daily and floss", which I've been doing my entire life
         | (flossing for at least a decade).
         | 
         | Getting older sucks, and I'm not even that old.
        
           | dwighttk wrote:
           | I thought that is what fluoride does. I guess maybe it isn't
           | effective at some point of decay.
        
             | asciimov wrote:
             | It does but you have to give it a chance to work.
             | 
             | You have to leave the fluoride on without rinsing, give it
             | time to work (30 mins without drinking fluids), and reduce
             | the amount of acidic foods you eat that is eroding the
             | enamel.
        
           | asciimov wrote:
           | Talk to your dentist about getting a prescription for
           | fluoride toothpaste/treatment. The one I use is a paste you
           | use once a day after brushing, you brush it on and spit it
           | out without rinsing. It has a higher concentration of
           | fluoride than you get in a normal toothpaste.
           | 
           | After using it for a while (couple of months) I started
           | noticing a drastic improvement to cold sensitivity. To the
           | point I can bite into ice cream or popsicles without any cold
           | pain.
        
           | gravypod wrote:
           | For me, I went to a dentist with good reviews, he asked if I
           | had sensitivity to cold and I said no. He said try X anyway.
           | I tried it and it's one of those experiences like people who
           | put on glasses that didn't know they had vision issues. I
           | like ice cream again.
           | 
           | There's some ways to build up enamel as long as you've not
           | eaten away at the dentin (aka cavity). There's tooth paste
           | and mouth wash that has small particles that get stuck in
           | groves in your teeth and helps enamel grow. It also reduces
           | sensitivity. My dentist recommended something for me so I'm
           | assuming it's not one-size-fits-all.
        
           | anonfunction wrote:
           | There is a sensodyne toothpaste with novamin that supposedly
           | repairs enamel. I've heard it's only available in Europe and
           | Asia though.
        
             | simon_weber wrote:
             | There's a similar formula available in the US called Biomin
             | that's FDA approved and distributed by Dr Collins. Their
             | fluoridated version isn't FDA approved yet, but it works
             | well for me used 50/50 with an OTC stannous fluoride
             | toothpaste.
        
             | sfjailbird wrote:
             | I can vouch for this toothpaste (it's called Repair &
             | Protect). After about a week of use, no more pain when
             | eating or drinking cold things. It had gotten so bad that I
             | could hardly swirl even lukewarm water (do see a dentist
             | too though if you have problems).
             | 
             | There are independent studies confirming the efficacy. The
             | active ingredient binds to dentite and forms a protective
             | layer, which lasts about a day.
             | 
             | It's OTC in Europe but afaik on prescription in the US.
             | Maybe buy it from an EU web shop, it's no more expensive
             | than a regular toothpaste.
        
         | macksd wrote:
         | I think this is what they're getting at:
         | 
         | >> The scientists are not recommending DIY treatments though.
         | People who are experiencing any worrying toothache should still
         | see a dentist, they stress.
         | 
         | I don't think that's a long-term solution for everyone, though.
         | I have had painful sensations when drinking ice water or eating
         | ice cream my whole life. My dentist sees no apparent reason for
         | this: I don't have significant gum disease, and I've never had
         | a cavity so I would imagine my enamel has been in good shape.
         | If there's something else specific my dentist can look for to
         | see why I have the pain, or something better than Sensodyne,
         | then it's new to me and my dentist.
        
           | asciimov wrote:
           | Prescription Fluoride Toothpaste was a life changer for me.
           | The tube is like $20 but lasts about a year (you don't use
           | much).
           | 
           | It took a few months of nightly use, but It drastically
           | changed my cold sensitivity. I can bite into ice cream and
           | popsicles now, something that always hurt as a kid.
           | 
           | You also might want to consider a different dentist, as there
           | is a large range of ability with them.
        
       | mft_ wrote:
       | The paper seems to deal with the pathways by which _teeth sense
       | cold, and by which cold is sensed as pain_. However, the BBC
       | article seems to introduce another element by using the term
       | 'brain jolt' - which probably refers to the intense 'cold
       | headaches' one can experience from eating too much cold food or
       | drink too quickly. However, I don't see that this is referred to
       | anywhere within the paper (please correct me if I'm wrong) - so
       | this aspect of the BBC's article is extrapolating too far, and
       | should probably be amended.
        
         | cbogie wrote:
         | ah, in my region, i think the two phenomena are called 'sweet
         | tooth' and 'brain freeze'
         | 
         | former is sharp dental nerve pain, latter is blunt cranial
         | agony
         | 
         | not sure which the paper is referring to vs bbc though. both
         | are quite unpleasant.
         | 
         | wish investment in medical research and therapy development
         | would prioritize substantial impact on a humanitarian basis
         | rather than through cold and uncaring capitalism.
         | 
         | maybe it was an idiosyncratic discovery, but come on. big
         | whoop. hard to relate with folks who jump on this as an
         | opportunity to build a whole enterprise around.
        
           | codyb wrote:
           | I'm pretty sure "having a sweet tooth" just implies you like
           | sweets a lot.
        
         | raverbashing wrote:
         | Well, as someone who _can 't_ bite anything cold, I'd describe
         | the sensation as a brain jolt (yes, it's not "brain freeze" -
         | which is also unpleasant)
         | 
         | Yes, popsicles are pretty much a chore for me.
        
       | asiachick wrote:
       | I wanna whine that dentistry is still in the dark ages. One way a
       | dentist will test if a tooth needs a root canal is to apply
       | electricity to the tooth at increasingly higher levels until it
       | hurts at a level that some, myself at least, would call Jack
       | Bauer level of torture. And, AFAICT it's entirely unreliable. You
       | can make the pain happen in any tooth or at least that's my
       | experience.
        
         | Roark66 wrote:
         | Seriously? Electric shocks? Last time I went to a dentist she
         | did an xray of the tooth that hurt me. Then she showed me the
         | high resolution photo on the computer screen where I could
         | clearly see what looked like a "bubble of something" right
         | beneath one of the roots. This I was told is why I needed root
         | canal treatment.
         | 
         | The dentist used handheld xray machine.
        
         | fakedang wrote:
         | I've had way too many RCTs and I've never been subject to this
         | kind of test. Every where I've been to a dentist, I've always
         | been asked to take an X-ray, in which the extent of damage is
         | clearly visible even to untrained eyes.
        
       | nathias wrote:
       | I get brain freezes in my neck ...
        
       | tanseydavid wrote:
       | I always thought that the formal scientific term was: Slurpee
       | Headache. </sarc>
        
       | snarfy wrote:
       | When I was a kid I discovered I could make brain freeze stop by
       | flexing my jaw muscle and holding it tense for a few seconds.
        
         | rahimnathwani wrote:
         | I used to hold the side of the cold bowl to my forehead for a
         | few seconds. That never failed.
        
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