Why do cold air and cold liquids hurt my teeth?

I thought you would never ask! It seems that the cold weather we in Northern Nevada have been having is a good test of how healthy our teeth are. Normally if we drink something cold or breath in cold air our teeth respond to the cold on them by letting us know that something cold has been detected. The teeth don’t start to complain and ache unless we leave something very cold on them for a short while. When the cold is removed by swallowing or warming up the liquid or by not breathing through our mouths the sensation goes away. At least it does if the teeth are healthy. If the cold sensation persists or causes an ache or worse there is a good chance that one of the teeth has a nerve disease called irreversible (won’t get better) pulpitis (nerve disease).