# Eating something REALLY swet and tooth pain. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 21, 2003, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-something-really-swet-and-tooth-pain/208654 "2003-10-21T06:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-something-really-swet-and-tooth-pain/208654/1 "2003-10-21T06:51:13Z")
I’ve noticed this my entire life: How come if you eat something really, really sweet…like a whole lot of chocolate all at once…your teeth hurt for a little bit? What’s going on? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-something-really-swet-and-tooth-pain/208654/2 "2003-10-21T07:00:26Z")
Your teeth are okay, but your gums have to be removed. Rotten luck, kid. Got any Reese’s pieces? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-something-really-swet-and-tooth-pain/208654/3 "2003-10-21T07:59:38Z")
I’ve noticed this too; I think it must be some kind of osmotic effect; it certainly happens too rapidly to be just plain old decay. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-something-really-swet-and-tooth-pain/208654/4 "2003-10-21T08:23:17Z")
Heath bars have always given me a compulsion to grind my teeth while I’m eating them. Anyone else experience this? ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-something-really-swet-and-tooth-pain/208654/5 "2003-10-21T22:45:57Z")
I had a friend that was developing a cavity. It only hurt when she ate waffles with syrup and powdered sugar, but she felt silly complaining to her dentist that she couldn’t eat all the sugar she wanted. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-something-really-swet-and-tooth-pain/208654/6 "2003-10-21T23:20:58Z")
I had some pretty major periodontal surgery that included the dentist scraping my teeth. Since then (about 8 months ago) I’ve had sensitivity to both cold and sweet, although it’s gotten a bit better. When I asked my dentist about it, he told me that it would take a while for my enamel to grow back to its previous thickness, and to expect the sensivity. I guess not being able to eat ice cream and waffles is better than losing all my teeth 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-something-really-swet-and-tooth-pain/208654/7 "2003-10-21T23:22:57Z")
“sensivity” is the medical term for “sensitivity.” ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-something-really-swet-and-tooth-pain/208654/8 "2003-10-22T01:02:09Z")
Does enamel grow back? ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-something-really-swet-and-tooth-pain/208654/9 "2003-10-22T15:10:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by smoke \* > \*\*Does enamel grow back? \*\* I certainly hope so. It’s not like my nerves are dangling from my gums or anything; my teeth look fine. It’s just that my dentist said that he scraped the hell out of them, and that’s probably what’s causing the sensitivity. So it would probably make sense that someone with a cavity might have the same symptom.