If foods and beverages that are too hot, or too cold, are causing your child tooth pain, they may be dealing with tooth sensitivity. You might not realize this, but tooth sensitivity can affect children too. Unfortunately, children can't tell you that their teeth are sensitive. However, they can tell you when something they eat or drink makes their teeth hurt. If your child is experiencing tooth sensitivity, it could be caused by several different things. Here are just four of the reasons why your child may be suffering from tooth sensitivity:

Hidden Cavities

Cavities aren't always visible. In fact, they can be present for quite a while before they're visible to the naked eye. Unfortunately, prior to being visible, they can cause tooth sensitivity. If your child is complaining about painful teeth, but you can't see any signs of cavities, you should schedule an appointment with the dentist.

Problem Fillings

Fillings can also cause tooth sensitivity, especially when they were used to repair deep cavities, or following a root canal. Most of the time, sensitivity caused by fillings can be taken care of by utilizing toothpaste designed specifically for tooth sensitivity. However, if your child has fillings, and changing toothpaste doesn't alleviate the problem, you should have your child's dentist take a look a the fillings. The fillings may be deteriorating, or there could be another filling.

Small Cracks

If your child has misaligned teeth or has a problem with grinding, they could have small cracks in the enamel. Grinding and misalignment can cause increased pressure on developing teeth. Unfortunately, that pressure can cause small cracks to develop. Once those cracks form in the enamel, the tooth can become sensitive to cold and heat. If your child is experiencing tooth sensitivity, they could have small cracks in the enamel. Have your child's dentist look closely at the enamel. Cracks can be repaired, which will alleviate the sensitivity.

Sinus Troubles

If your child has been suffering from tooth sensitivity, but the dentist has been unable to find any dental cause, it might be caused by sinus troubles. You might not realize this, but pressure in the sinuses, specifically congestion, can lead to tooth sensitivity. Once your child's dentist rules out any dental problems, you should schedule an appointment with your child's primary care physician.

If your child is suffering from tooth sensitivity, you should schedule an appointment with a dentist like Brit E. Bowers, DDS. They could have an underlying issue that will need to be resolved.