Tooth Pain

Most often, a toothache is caused when the central part of the tooth called the pulp becomes inflamed. The tooth pulp contains nerves that can are extremely sensitive to pain. Pulp inflammation may be due to infection, where bacteria from the mouth have been able to penetrate the pulp. Pain can occur if a tooth has an untreated cavity, or has suffered from some form of trauma that has chipped or cracked the tooth. Sometimes toothache is referred pain that is caused by the jaw, where the jaw joints may be inflamed, and jaw muscles have become inflamed, a problem called TMD, which is a jaw joint disorder.

The most common symptom is extreme tooth pain that can increase if you try to eat or drink something hot or cold. The pain may persist for quite some time afterward. As the inflammation in the tooth increases, it can cause other symptoms, including pain that may radiate out toward your jaw, ear, or cheek. Other symptoms include:

• Pain when chewing food
• Tooth sensitivity to hot or cold
• Swelling around the tooth or jaw swelling
• Signs of trauma or injury to the tooth
• Discharge or pus from around the tooth or the gum

If you try gently tapping the affected tooth, it may make the pain feel more intense.

It is normal to experience some tooth sensitivity after a filling and when the local anesthesia wears off, but this discomfort should soon dissipate as the filling settles down. More persistent pain or extreme tooth pain may need urgent dental care. Please seek professional dental advice quickly if you fail to get tooth pain relief from over-the-counter drugs. Other times when you should seek professional dental care for a toothache include:

• Wisdom tooth pain worsening several days after tooth extraction. The pain may be due to the blood clot in the empty socket becoming dislodged, exposing the bone and causing a condition called dry socket. We will need to clean out the empty socket and can place a dressing to protect it while it heals.
• Extreme tooth pain that accompanied with gum swelling or facial swelling, or with a discharge from around the tooth.
• Fever, which may indicate a severe abscess that requires urgent dental care. The infection caused by a dental abscess often needs antibiotics and must be surgically drained.
• Front tooth pain caused by an injury to the tooth and which may have loosened or knocked out the tooth entirely.
• Unexplained tooth pain that worsens when you open your mouth widely, indicating a problem with your jaw joints that may have become injured or inflamed.