To feel pain in the tooth is not something you should ignore. You may have strong pain tolerance, yet, it is essential to listen to the signals to discard an infection. If an oral disease has taken over your tooth, you have the possibility of losing it! What does a toothache feel like? Some of the symptoms may include:
- Pain when eating sugary foods.
- Pain when biting.
- Tooth sensibility.
- Lack of sleep due to pain.
These could be symptoms of tooth decay, or in other words, the destruction of the tissues of the tooth caused by bacterias. Bacterias produce acids, which in contact with the teeth harm its natural protection, the enamel.
Don’t let toothache grow
If you are eating a sweet or a bar of chocolate, and you start to feel toothache, it may be that a barely visible cavity has already invaded your tooth or teeth. When the caries is already present your dentist must treat them. Your dental care professional will clean the damaged surface and place a filling material such as resin, restoring shape and function to the tooth.
Even if you have resins or amalgams, they could have the need to be treated since they suffered a fissure. There are better chances to recover if treated on time.
When your teeth hurt chewing, drinking ice water, or eating ice cream, there is already an infection at the apex (at the tip of the tooth), and it is most likely necessary to have a root canal.
Can tooth decay be reversed?
Your doctor will decide the method to protect the tooth depending on the cause, or how advanced deterioration of the tooth structure is. If a very deep cavity has affected the tooth nerve, then the doctor should perform endodontics. Subsequently, a crown will help rehabilitate the tooth.
Endodontics is the last option to save a tooth from being removed from the mouth as a consequence of irreversible damage, such as infection or trauma. It consists of the removal of the nerve of the tooth.
You can know the tooth’s nerve is in degeneration because the pain will be so severe so that you won’t be able to sleep. Another symptom that the tooth structure is in danger is when cold that used to bother you now calms the pain, as the nerve of the tooth is liberating gases due to infection, and the coolness helps to compress them
If cavities have already progressed, the dentist will opt for extraction.
Find out more about these treatments in our FAQ section, as well as pricing information.
How to avoid cavities
Having good dental hygiene is essential, as well as a balanced diet low in sugars. Consulting your doctor, doing regular check-ups and dental cleanings will help you detect any irregularity in time.
What to do with a toothache? Not treating yourself could lead you to lose a tooth, the opinion of a professional is always the best. Make an appointment with Dr. Arturo Pereyra so that he can review the status of your dental health.