What Your Toothache Is Trying to Tell You

Toothache, whether sudden in its onset or the prolonged type, is one of the most common concerns of our patients here at our Hudson Valley dental practice. Although most episodes of toothache will go away after a dose or two of painkillers, it should be noted that pain is actually your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. When it comes to toothache, pain is almost always a result of stimulation of nerve endings inside your tooth’s pulp chamber.

So what exactly is your toothache trying to tell you? Let’s find out below!

• Sudden episodes of sensitivity to extremely hot or cold food/liquids – Possible causes include a tiny area of tooth decay, exposed tooth root surfaces due to gum recession, toothbrush abrasion, or loose fillings (if you have any).

• Sensitivity to extremely hot or cold food/liquids after dental treatment – Sensitivity after dental treatment may be possible due to the usual inflammatory reaction in the pulp areas. Although this reaction is quite normal, you may have to get in touch with your dentist if the sensitivity persists for after a few days following the dental procedure.

• Sudden sharp pain when biting and chewing food – A cracked tooth, tooth decay, and a loose filling are possible causes of this type of toothache.

• Lingering toothache following consumption of hot or cold food or liquids – This could mean an inflamed pulp tissue or worst, a dying (may be irreversible) pulp tissue due to untreated tooth decay.

• Acute and constant toothache in one area but difficult to figure out which part is actually causing the pain – Possible reasons include an acutely infected or dying pulp tissue.

• Dull pain the in the upper teeth and sinus areas – This type of pain may be difficult to figure out as sinus pain may masked itself as toothache at times.

• Constant and severe toothache coupled with gum inflammation and tenderness – An infected pulp tissue may have spread to your gums.

Do not wait for the pain to get worse! We encourage you to get in touch with us right away so we can figure out the root cause of your toothache and recommend treatment options.  

To learn about our family dentistry practice in Hudson Valley, make an appointment.