7 possible factors behind tooth pain
Dr. D.Sendhil Nathan MDS, DNB Prosthodontics And Implantology
In general, tooth pain ranges from mild tolerable to severe unbearable pain. Toothache is effective to disrupt our daily activities, restrict us from eating, chewing and sometimes disturb our sleep. Do you agree?
When does tooth pain? Our tooth begins to hurt due to any infection in the nerves present inside the tooth. Such infection is triggered by various reasons like poor oral hygiene routine, TMJ disorders, teeth grinding at sleep and much more.
The Dental Professionals in our clinic have explained some factors which stimulate pain in your teeth.
1.Tooth decay / Dental Caries
Tooth decay is caused by cavities which take advantage of the plaque and tartar stick to the surface of the teeth. If you do not remove such plaque from your mouth, they get deposited on the teeth surfaces or the spaces between the teeth and slowly begin to produce permanent damage to the hard surface of the teeth. It is called dental cavity.
As time passes by, the cavities get worse and produce a hole in the infected teeth. Bacteria and germs in the mouth use the hole to penetrate through the nerves present inside the teeth. In the initial stage, tooth decay does not show any symptom or pain. The sufferer will feel an intense and sharp pain in the decayed tooth when the infection gets very deep and close to the tooth nerves.
2. Abscessed tooth
This is otherwise known as the Tooth abscess or mouth abscess. It is caused when a pocket of pus is build up in the pulp chamber and the infection is developed to reach the edge of the teeth. Such pockets are formed by oral bacteria.
If you do not treat cavities in the initial stage, bacterial infection leads to caries to reach the pulp chamber and cause the abscess. Similarly, untreated tooth trauma is also a factor causing the tooth abscess. This is identified by reddish in the gum region around the affected tooth.
Root Canal Treatment is required to extract the pulp infection. Otherwise, the infected tooth root also gets infected and weakens the bone support which leads to tooth loss.
3. Gum Recession
Receding gums is a dental issue which wears down the gum line and exposes the roots of teeth. As the dentin and tooth root is exposed, it produces sensitivity of teeth on consuming hot or cold drinks.
If you have the receding gums in mild or moderate level, you don/t need to worry about. Otherwise, visit a Periodontist or Gum specialist to treat your gums.
4. Broken dental filling
The dental filling is an artificial material used to restore your tooth which is decayed. If the filling is broken or falls down, pulp of the tooth is exposed to various external agents producing severe pain in affected tooth.
In such cases, the sufferer needs to visit the dentist to fix new dental fillings. Otherwise, the tooth hurts when it is exposed to food, snacks and even hot beverages. To get rid of such pain temporarily, rinse your mouth with warm water to loosen the external objects deposited in the infected tooth.
5. Cracked or Fractured Tooth
Our tooth can get fractured, broken or cracked due to dental injury or biting any hard substances.
The chipped tooth causes an extreme pain when the dentin and pulp are exposed via the crack to external agents including air.
Restoring the fractured tooth with composite restoration or Capping the tooth with the Dental crown is the right and appropriate way to get rid of the discomfort and tooth pain caused by the fractured tooth.
6. Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom tooth, also known as third molars is the last tooth to come out. These teeth do not get enough space in our jaws to erupt and hence grow in a disordered position. As they are maligned, they hurt the adjacent teeth and cause pain when they continue to grow.
if wisdom teeth are partially erupted there are high chances for deposition of plaque and bacterial infection, as our toothbrush cannot clean such the wisdom teeth effectively due to its malalignment.
Extraction is the best way to relieve the pain caused by wisdom teeth.
7. Referred Pain
Pain from one part of our body may be felt in a different region his is known as referred pain. This occurs because of convergence of our nervous system, meaning multiple nerves run to the same area before heading to the brain. So, a pain in one area may fool the brain into thinking it is somewhere else.
Referred pain can be due to sinusitis, TMJ disorders, cardiac attack, etc.
Conclusion
Besides dental issues, some inner parts of our human body use teeth as a source by stimulating toothache to indicate an issue in your health. Hence we recommend you not to ignore the tooth pain and visit your dentist immediately to keep your oral or overall health.
