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[QUOTE="CMO, post: 119143, member: 7659"]
My teeth are sensitive to cold (even room temperature) liquids.  I had one side of my mouth cleaned (dental prophy) almost 3 weeks ago, and that side has more sensitivity than the other side (which had not been professionally cleaned for 15-20 years).  Here are my questions:

1.) If tooth sensitivity is always due to exposed dentin, does this mean that many of my teeth have areas where the enamel has completely worn away or the gums have receded and the cementum has worn away - exposing the underlying dentin?

2.) If a professional cleaning (i.e., scaling with manual instruments) makes sensitivity worse - what does this imply?  Does it imply that calculus was covering exposed dentin and the calculus was removed during the cleaning, or can the cleaning remove root structure in the process of calculus removal?

3.) In people who develop sensitivity after professional cleaning that goes away in several weeks, what is the mechanism for the sensitivity going away?
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