Each of us who at least once faced with a toothache knows that it is simply unbearable and urgent help from experienced specialists is needed to eliminate this nightmare. Toothache can occur for a variety of reasons, and in some situations, even a seemingly healthy tooth can hurt. In order to understand how to treat a bad tooth, it is important to understand the cause of these pains.
Causes of toothache
Professional dentists call toothache a protective reaction of the body. This is a kind of signal that something is not right with the teeth. It is worth remembering that caries is not the only cause of pain in the teeth, and in addition to this, there are many more reasons.
Inflammation of the soft tissues of the gums as a cause of toothache
Not infrequently, a seemingly healthy tooth can hurt because of the gums when tissues become inflamed. Periodontal disease can be the cause of toothaches – a disease that initially does not cause any pain, but during the progression of the disease and increased inflammation, gum bleeding begins to be accompanied by severe pain. It is worth noting that in this situation, the gums are the cause of pain, despite the fact that the patient complains about his teeth at the dentist’s office.
Mechanical damage as a cause of toothache
Chips of enamel, cracks, etc. can act as mechanical damage. As a result of injuries, dentin is often exposed, which has a rather high sensitivity. In such a situation, pain can be caused by eating cold food or cold drinks after hot (and vice versa), as well as too spicy or acidic foods.
Damage to neighboring teeth as a cause of toothache
Quite often, healthy teeth can hurt due to caries damage to neighboring teeth. The oral cavity is a very complex system and it is not uncommon for pain in one tooth to affect another. As a rule, this can happen with adjacent teeth, however, there are times when pain appears in the antagonist tooth, i.e. a tooth located on the other jaw opposite.
Hidden caries as the cause of toothache
The development of latent caries can begin on the back or side of the tooth surface, quickly penetrating into the very depths and destroying the tooth from the inside. Quite often in such a situation, visually, a hole in the tooth may not be noticeable.
Hidden pathologies as the cause of toothache
Situations are quite common when, visually, the tooth is healthy, and there are very serious lesions from the inside. Among the most common pathologies include a cyst, as well as dental injuries. The development of a dental cyst can occur asymptomatically at the root of the tooth (for a long period of time the patient does not experience discomfort, but as the disease grows, pain begins to appear). As the cyst grows, other teeth can be endangered. If we talk about some injuries of the teeth (bruises), then they may not appear outwardly in any way, while being the cause of unbearable pain.
Root fracture as a cause of toothache
With a fracture of the roots of the teeth, it is impossible to determine the disease outwardly. Such fractures are characteristic of “dead teeth”, which are devoid of nerves, as well as repeatedly treated. Pain may appear at the moment of biting.
TMJ dysfunction as a cause of toothache
In such situations, the pain is not pronounced, but constant. Any experienced dentist, to whom the patient comes with a complaint about the tooth, in the absence of visible causes of pain, an extended examination should be carried out, where it will be possible to identify what causes pain in a healthy tooth.
Inflammation of the facial nerve as a cause of toothache
Pain in the teeth can not always be such, and it is not uncommon that the cause of pain is not the tooth itself, but the facial nerve with an inflamed branch, which is responsible for the innervation of a particular tooth.
Cold as a cause of toothache
In most cases, colds entail an exacerbation of latent inflammatory processes in the teeth. For this reason, if a tooth starts to hurt, then there is a problem that is not associated with a cold, but a process of exacerbation has simply occurred as a result of its negative impact. Quite often, a healthy tooth can hurt due to a cold, i.e. toothache appears along with headache, high fever and general weakness. Pain in the teeth occurs due to sputum that forms in the passages of the sinuses (there is pressure and, as a result, pain).
Pain in the teeth due to diseases of other organs
Diseases of the internal organs, lack of vitamins, diabetes mellitus, immunodeficiency, rheumatism can significantly worsen the condition of the teeth, since the teeth are an integral part of the body. It is also worth mentioning the feedback that exists between the health of internal organs and the condition of the teeth. People who do not follow oral hygiene are more likely to get periodontitis and gingivitis. These diseases play an important role in the development of diseases such as stroke and heart attack. Quite often, toothache can be caused by diseases of neighboring organs (paranasal sinuses, pharynx, auditory organs, etc.).
Not infrequently, teeth hurt with the following diseases:
- Otitis or inflammation of the middle ear.
- Sinusitis or acute maxillary sinusitis (in this situation, the upper teeth hurt).
- Angina pectoris (in this situation, the lower teeth hurt).
- Diseases of the salivary gland (salivary stone disease).
Toothache due to cancer
In addition to all the above diseases, it is worth mentioning the oncology of the oral cavity. With tumors that grow in the jaw bone, pressure occurs and the teeth begin to loosen (fortunately, this cause is quite rare).
Author: dentist Gavrilyuk Inna Yurievna – (treatment and filling of teeth) https://101stomatolog.com.ua/specialisty/gavrilyuk-inna-yurevna.html
