Oral Health During The Colder Weather
Why does cold weather hurt and how untreated teeth can cause sinusitis? Autumn and winter weather are typical times for the start of flu epidemics, and all types of acute respiratory virus infections and sinusitis frequently strike us precisely in the cold and rainy season, or any time there is a drop in temperature. But how do our teeth react to this?
Low temperatures lead to cracks in the enamel
It is a well-known fact: polar explorers who studied the Arctic and the Antarctic often did not just crack their teeth from the cold, but explode right in their mouths. The reason lies in very low temperatures, which cause destruction of the enamel of the teeth. Of course, residents of modern cities are not exposed to such extreme temperatures, but the cold can indeed damage their teeth.
If you have a habit of going out of a warm room to the street to smoke, or you regularly eat both very hot and very cold foods, then cracks appear on the enamel. There is also such a phenomenon as aching teeth due to cold. It occurs if the teeth and gums are very sensitive: after breathing cold air for a long time or talking on the street, toothache or even pain in the gums may appear. For those who just had a successful procedure with Dental Implants Phoenix, the cold weather can still cause pain around the tooth area although this can go away in time.
There are two ways to protect your teeth from this. First, give up the combination of hot and cold food. Avoid the cold getting into your mouth, try to talk as little as possible in the cold. Secondly, do not forget about insulation: wear a scarf covering your cheeks, raise the collar of outerwear, wear jackets or coats with deep hoods.
Influenza and SARS can cause toothache
But the cold weather is dangerous not only for aching teeth. SARS and flu are frequent companions of winter and frost. These diseases can also cause toothache. The fact is that any inflammatory processes primarily affect the body’s immunity. During massive outbreaks of viral diseases, it decreases. As a rule, if the teeth hurt at the onset of the disease, then a certain inflammatory process is already taking place in them. When the immune system is at the proper level, it stabilizes this process, and inflammation in the teeth does not actively develop. The infection that was present in them was controlled in a healthy state of the body since macrophages destroyed some of the pathogenic microorganisms. But with a decrease in immunity due to influenza or SARS, the body can no longer maintain the normal condition of the teeth. Sluggish inflammatory processes are exacerbated, and the patient suddenly begins to have a toothache. That is, this problem existed before but was imperceptible.
Antibiotics don’t harm your teeth
Many patients refuse to take antibiotics for fear of the side effects of these drugs. But antibiotics are harmless to teeth – they reduce inflammation, as these are substances that kill microbes that have entered our body. Therefore, taking antibiotics prescribed by a doctor for the treatment of colds or sinusitis can in no way cause toothache, but rather, on the contrary, will soften it, especially if bacteria that cause caries and pulpitis get into the spectrum of action of these antibiotics.