When you have a cold drink in summer, you may get a toothache. If eating ice cream or drinking cold drinks make your eh hurt, it could be a kind of protein(蛋白质) called TRPC5 at work.
A new study which came out on March 26 answered a long-lasting question about our teeth—why do cold food and drinks make our teeth hurt? Actually, when you feel a toothache, it's because a kind of protein feels a drop in temperature and sounds an alarm to your brain. The research team found this protein 15 years ago. But they didn't know where in the body it felt the temperature. Now they know it—it's in a kind of tooth cell.
David Clapham from the research team explained how our teeth sensed cold. When someone is eating ice cream, for example, cells with TRPC5 in teeth feel a change in temperature and send a signal to the brain. As a result, you will be sensitive to the cold food and feel pains. I is also found that here will be more TRPC5 if your teeth are worn away(磨损), so a great way to prevent a toothache is to treat it gently. If you don't know what to do, the following tips can help you out;
●Don't brush your teeth too hard. Brush up and down to keep them clean and strong.
●Say goodbye to soda and sticky candy, because they can wear your teeth away.
●Stop grinding(磨) your teeth. That will make your teeth more sensitive(敏感的) to coldness.
If all of these don't work, go to the dentist!