Why are your lower teeth tingling?

Answer 1

I don't know for certain why my lower teeth are tingling, and I don't know how you knew they were tingling in the first place, or why you care. But I've done some googling and found some possible explanations.

According to the most detailed explanation I read, teeth tingling is associated with exposure of dentin (or dentine) that's normally protected by enamel. The dentin is porous, and if it is exposed to high or low temperatures the perception of it will be oversensitive, and maybe painful or tingly.

You may already know this, but it's actually just my front lower teeth, and it isn't easy to say which ones (the front two? the front four?). And I can't say I've noticed any correlation between the tingling and eating or drinking things. Instead it comes in waves, perhaps once a minute (although I haven't timed it), and the tingling is akin to a shiver, a pre-sneeze, or even the way zero-G in my gut feels on a rollercoaster. In fact I kind of like it.

Or rather I would like it if I hadn't also read that tingling in your front teeth is a sign of impacted wisdom teeth in that jaw. Indeed, my wisdom teeth were never pulled, and one even began to erupt within the last year (although only on the bottom, and all seismic activity has been absent for months). Wisdom teeth are considered impacted when they grow into other teeth, usually at some odd angle, and the consequences are varied. Whatever awful damage and pain they may ultimately cause though, on their way to doing it they will likely push other teeth all over the place. Pressure from wisdom teeth would be a good explanation.

BUT IS IT? You see, I'm currently sick with something that makes me hack green phlegm. And usually when I've gotten sick, from childhood on, my front bottom teeth have responded in exactly this way. Knowing this, I can happily continue ignoring my wisdom teeth because, really, I do not want to deal with that (nor can I afford to). As for why being sick should cause waves of dental climaxes, no clue -- and no dentist has ever been able to answer it for me either. Each one I asked just answered something vague and dismissive. Really, it's not my fault they ended up dentists.

Thanks for your concern,

DV

Answer 2

You might be gritting your teeth when you work out.