Toothache- the pain which you see in the eye

Toothache- the pain which you see in the eyes

                                                                                                                  By: Dr. Ankit Yadav

Toothache is the pain that we all have felt at least once, twice, or more numbers of times or we hear it from other people who experience it. Everyone has their own story about the pain and, how they cope with that pain. Some took medication; others took proper dental treatment for that pain. Few people have their hack-like home remedies during nighttime tooth pain also. The pain also has a character in some patients it is localized to a tooth only and in others, it radiates to the ear or forehead or towards the neck also. Now the question is, is the pain sudden? The answer to that is no. Before the pain shoots so high it gives us a reminder, which we ignore many times, and later we have to pay a cost for that pain both financially as well as mentally.

Causes of toothache:

• Dental caries reach to pulp
• Trauma
• Tooth infection or abscess formation
• Faulty tooth filling
• Ill-fitting partial denture and crown
• Impacted tooth

Dental caries:

Dental caries is one of the major factors which lead to toothache. Caries is the cluster of various types of microorganisms that infect the healthy tooth structure and the underlying tissue attached with it. When caries reach the pulp region it produces signals which are received by the pain receptors and mild symptoms of pain occur. When the pulp is approached by the microorganisms a sharp shooting pain is felt by us.

• Early routine check-ups and treatment are the preventive way to avoid the pain.
• Early symptoms are sensitivity to the tooth region while taking sugary products.
• Sensitivity to cold and hot food products to that tooth region only which remain there for a few seconds to 1 or 2 minutes in initial stages and later stages the pain is continuous for hours.

Trauma: -

After caries, this is the second major factor that leads to pain. Trauma while slipping, road traffic accidents, sports injuries are some common examples of this category. In trauma cases there is no caries involvement, the tooth is healthy. There is a fracture in the tooth structure. Due to trauma, the pulp is traumatized and the pain receptor is activated. The tooth is mobile in many cases. Many times tooth comes out from the socket. There is a sharp pain and feeling of fragments of tooth mobilizes while drinking and eating.

Symptoms of trauma are

• Discolored tooth
• Mobilization of tooth fragments
• Crack line in tooth structure

Tooth infection or abscess formation: -

It occurs either with caries or with gingival infection. When caries approach the pulp and infect the whole pulp then at the apex region there is an infection formation. Tooth slightly popup due to infection. Gingival infection can also lead to pain. The color of the gingival shift from coral pink to red inflames.

FAULTY TOOTH FILLING:

When the tooth is filled with a faulty filling or overfilling is there then it leads to toothache. Due to overfilling on the gingiva, chemical irritation occurs and that leads to infectious pain in the later stage. If the tooth is overfilled then it put occlusal force on the opposite tooth and vice-versa and due to this the overall force comes on that tooth more as compared to others and leads to toothache.

Faulty crown and dentures:

Crown which is used to replace a single or 2-3 tooth structure in your mouth may also be a source of toothache. If the crown is not up to mark in their dimensions then it may lead to toothache. There is an unusual force generated both on the opposite side tooth as well as the margin of the same tooth.

Impacted tooth: -

This is also one of the causes of toothache. It occurs majorly due to the impaction of the third molar (wisdom tooth). The general age of this pain is 18-25 years. Pain occurs due to pressure by the tooth, when it doesn't get any path to come out in occlusion or the proper space it needs in the arch.

 Professional advice: -

• An early diagnosis reduces this kind of pain or reduces the severity of the pain
• Proper selection of intraoral aids and proper hygiene reduce the growth of pain-causing microorganisms (visit my previous blog for more information - oral hygiene aids, toothbrush, and its care)
• Pain killer gives you only temporary relief for mild and moderate pain, but in severe cases, they are also less effective in relieving pain, dental treatment is the only solution.
• In some dental pain, cold items give you relief so you can apply an ice pack to the toothache region.
• Clove oil can also be used but it gives you only a mild relief for some time, you need to go for dental treatment.
• Visit your nearby dental clinic every 6 months to avoid this kind of pain and also to reduce the dental treatment cost.