Why you might be experiencing tooth pain, and what to do about it

Tooth pain, it can be anything from a cavity or infected gum, through to too much exercise!

A toothache can feel like a sharp and throbbing pain, to a dull and achy pain, however it feels it can throw you out of whack. Tooth pain can make it hard to talk, chew, focus, swallow and even to sleep at night. Whatever the actual reason for your toothache you should always let your dentist take a look. Pain isn’t supposed to be there, so if something is hurting, or doesn’t feel right, see your dentist as soon as you can. If you ignore the pain, it will just get worse and its’ a lot easier to treat tooth pain BEFORE it becomes a bigger problem.

• Cavity – a cavity is a hole in the tooth caused by decay, at first a cavity might not cause any pain, but it can eventually become a toothache, this pain will get worse as the cavity grows and gets closer to the nerves inside the tooth. Severe cavities cause sharp pains that are worse when you lie down and can wake you up when you are sleeping. Small cavities can be treated easily, but if left treatment could include root canal therapy, or, tooth removal.
• Exercising – a lot! Exercise is good for you but exercising too much can hurt your teeth. Research found that triathletes who did endurance training were at greater risk of tooth erosion than those who didn’t exercise, and the longer they work out each week the more likely they were to have multiple cavities, this could be due to a lack of saliva.

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• A filling has fallen out – fillings can fall out if the material has broken down, or too much force is placed on the area. Decay around or under a filling can also cause a breakage, you might not even know the filling has fallen out until you bite down and feel pain. Get your dentist to patch it up as soon as possible.
• Abscess – when food gets jammed between teeth and you keep chewing you’re pushing that food into your gums, over time this can cause inflammation and pain. It can also produce a pocket of space – or an abscess where food and debris lay, and an infection starts. Left untreated an abscess can lead to gum disease.
• Fractured tooth – toothache can be caused by a break or crack in the tooth, if it’s not separated completely and moving when you bite it creates pain. Depending on the severity of the break you may need a crown, or an implant to replace a severely damaged tooth.
• Wisdom Teeth – you will experience tooth pain if you still have your wisdom teeth and they are emerging in an awkward position or without enough space. Once they poke through you are at risk of inflammation or infection in the gums as wisdom teeth are hard to reach with floss and a toothbrush.