Why do you have tooth pain in cold weather?

As we are heading towards the coldest months of a year, coughs, colds, flu are unavoidable. Likewise, the cold weather can be hard on our teeth, gums, and jawbone as well as the skin, lips, and lungs. Besides cold diseases and winter allergies, the freezing temperature aggravates certain kinds of toothache for some people.

In general, our teeth are acquainted with our body temperature (100°F or 37.778°C). The sudden rise or drop of temperature would trigger pain and make teeth sensitive. It is common so that you don’t worry about tooth pain with cold or hot weather.

Further, when a tooth structure is compromised and the underlying soft tissues are exposed, the cold air penetrates deeper inside the tooth thereby triggering toothache. Such winter dental issues are uncommon and require immediate attention.

How does cold weather hurt your teeth?

Uneven contraction of teeth layers is the base reason for cold tooth pain. When your teeth are exposed to cold air breathed in through your mouth, they can contract. Then the teeth expand once the air warms up. As this process occurs constantly in cold seasons, it causes tiny cracks in the enamel layer and they are hard to notice.

Now, the cold air can hit the teeth’ sensitive layers through the crevices thereby triggering sharp pain in your teeth. In many cases, it is accompanied by various factors. For example, Vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for keeping your teeth and bones strong. According to NDTV Food, about 70 to 90% of Indians are deficient in Vitamin D. It also makes many people highly susceptible to have teeth sensitivity during cold seasons. The other elements to mention are:

• Gum recession
• Cavities
• Cracked dental fillings
• Damaged crowns
• Receding gums
• Enamel defects
• Teeth grinding

Apart from the hairline fissures on teeth, these aspects open additional ways for cold air to reach the nerves and tissues directly.

What should you do to cope with winter tooth pain?

Apart from the in-office treatments to repair enamel and damaged tooth structures to seal the cracks over the teeth’ outer coverings, there are some systematic ways you can lessen the degree of pain and even prevent this oral pain. Here are a few:

• Breath through your nose – It seems irrelevant but it is an efficient way to lessen cold tooth pain. As we discussed air, the cold entering your mouth is responsible for uneven contraction of teeth layers, When you breathe through your nose, exposure of teeth to freezing elements carried by cold air so that enamel damage is reduced and toothaches triggered by cold air is prevented.
• Use Fluoride toothpaste – Nothing can protect your teeth like brushing twice a day. Fluoride toothpaste is formulated with stannous fluoride to address sensitive teeth issues. It helps in remineralizing the teeth and shielding the sensitive areas in the teeth.
• Take Vitamin D foods &supplements – Sun is a great source of Vitamin D but the limited supply of sunlight during winter seasons reduces our regular intake of vitamin D as well. Eating mushrooms, soybeans, spinach, and foods loaded with this nutrient empower you to combat this problem.
• Avoid teeth grinding & clenching – Constant teeth grinding and clenching would wear down the enamel and disclose the layers underneath the outer covering. Hence you should stop this habit whilst wearing mouthguards also benefit you in this case.
• Take care of your sinuses –  Respiratory illnesses especially sinus infection has a strong impact on your teeth. Sudden changes in the weather will affect your sinus cavities mildly such as sinus inflammation and it may trigger sharp pain in your teeth.
• Take healthy hot drinks – Drinking hot beverages at moderate temperature is a great idea to get relief from pain caused by cool weather. You might prefer beverages like tea, coffee to warm your body during winter. Besides those, the healthy hot beverages we recommend turmeric milk, honey ginger lemon tea, tulsi tea, ginger coffee, lemongrass mint tea, and spiced hot apple cider.

Bottom line

Winter toothache is not uncommon and it occurs due to the change of temperature. Mostly, it persists for 3 days and then subsides once the teeth are familiarized with the cold temperature. If you notice the cold weather aches your teeth for a long, you may be dealing with some dental problems or bodily disorders. At those times, don’t neglect the oral pain and contact your dentist quickly.