You're sitting outside, the sun's out, someone's just brought you an iced coffee or an ice lolly, and the first sip lands like an electric shock through your front tooth. If that's familiar, you're in good company. Sensitivity gets worse in summer for most people, and there are reasons for it. There are also things you can do about it that don't involve giving up the iced coffee.
Why summer makes it worse
Three things conspire. First, the temperature difference is bigger. Hot day, cold drink, and the contrast hits enamel that's been warmed by the air. Second, summer drinks tend to be sweeter and more acidic: cordials, fizzy drinks, that frozen rosé you'd been looking forward to. Acid softens enamel temporarily and exposes the small channels in your teeth that lead to the nerve. Third, we drink more of everything, more often, which gives the enamel less time to recover.
What sensitivity actually is
Under your enamel sits a layer called dentine, and dentine has tiny tubes running through it, all the way down to the nerve. Healthy enamel covers and protects those tubes. When enamel wears thin, or gums recede, the tubes get exposed. Cold, sweet or acidic stimuli reach the nerve, and that's the jolt you feel. It isn't damage, exactly, but it's a fair warning.
What helps, day to day
- Switch to a sensitive toothpaste with at least 1450 ppm fluoride. Fluoride helps remineralise enamel and supports the dentine tubes closing back up
- Brush gently, not hard. Hard brushing is a leading cause of gum recession, which exposes more dentine
- Use a soft-bristled brush, or a sonic one on a gentle mode
- Wait twenty minutes after acidic drinks before brushing, your enamel needs time to firm back up
- Drink water alongside acidic drinks, it dilutes and helps neutralise
The role of mouthwash
An alcohol-free mouthwash with fluoride gives sensitive teeth a small, daily top-up of the mineral that strengthens enamel. The alcohol-free part matters: alcohol can be drying and irritate already-sensitive areas. Our Sensitive Care Mouthwash includes chamomile and calendula, which are gentle on irritated soft tissue, and 250 ppm fluoride for the enamel side of the job.
If it's getting worse
Sensitivity that gets sharper, lasts longer, or appears in a new tooth is worth getting a dentist to look at. Sometimes there's a small chip, a leaking filling, or early decay underneath that's worth catching. Most of the time it's just enamel that needs a bit of help.
Enjoy the iced coffee
Summer should not be the season you have to avoid your favourite drinks. With a sensitive-care routine doing the quiet work in the background, that first sip should land as it's meant to. A small pleasure, not a small shock.
Don't just clean. Care.