Dr. Seuss, how can I stop tooth pain fast?
So let's say your tooth is hurting. You want to know one thing, like how do I get rid of it? How do I stop the pain fast? How do I make that go away? One of the biggest things that you can do is find out why that tooth is hurting and then take those steps to correct that so that the tooth stops hurting. It seems so simple, but there's lots of different reasons a tooth could hurt and lots of different steps that we would take to make it stop hurting. I think the answer lies in finding out what's causing it and then we can talk about what do we do to fix it.
What is the longest lasting solution for tooth pain?
One of the things that we can do to stop tooth pain is just remove all your teeth. If you don't have teeth, it can't hurt. Now that's crazy. We wouldn't do that. Our job is to fix teeth, to save teeth, to keep you smiling and chewing and speaking and to keep you proud of your smile. But if you have a tooth and it's acting up, we want to stop that process as quickly as possible. One of the biggest things that we run into is a small problem becomes a medium problem and a medium problem becomes a large problem and it's our human nature to just sweep it under the rug. Maybe if I ignore it, it'll go away and sometimes it does, but that's not always a good thing. We need to find the root cause of it. We need to find out what's going wrong that's causing the pain and then take steps as early as we can to stop that process so that you have the best chance of saving your tooth, repairing it and getting it symptom-free, looking good and smiling and chewing and talking again.
What are the most common dental reasons for tooth pain and how can a dentist help me find relief?
Why would a tooth hurt? We have a whole bunch of structures around a tooth. We look in our mouth and we see just the white part on top. It's really hard. A lot of times it's nice and bright and white. We smile with it. We chew with it. That's what we recognize as a tooth. But below the surface, that tooth has a whole root structure. It's its support system. Just like a tree has roots down below, a tooth also has roots down below. Now the top of the tooth can hurt, the nerve inside can hurt or the root system of a tooth can hurt. And it's important that we find out which of the structures has a problem, which of those we can correct and to do so as quickly as possible so that pain or discomfort can go away. Your next question might be, well then what's a dentist going to do? How do we fix it? Like what if it's a nerve problem? Can you guys fix that? And the answer is usually we can. There's lots of things that we can do to preserve and save and repair a tooth or its nerve. And there's lots of things that we can do if that nerve has been irreversibly damaged to at least quiet it down, take the pain away, stabilize that tooth and make it last a long time while you still get to keep your tooth. That's one of the most important things that we can do. But our odds are better if we find it earlier and your success rate is higher. So it's less costly and it's less invasive the earlier we find that problem so that we can get that fix.
What are some common non-dental reasons for tooth pain?
So let's say your tooth is hurting and you go in and you're thinking, well is it the tooth or is it the area around it? That might be a good question to ask. There's lots of structures around each tooth. A tooth has a top and a tooth has a root. And that root is held in by bone and skin, a little ligament around each tooth. It has a whole support system that keeps it there. Well what if it's the support system that's hurting? What if it's not the tooth itself? Another example is for an upper tooth. We have an air space up inside of our upper jaw. It connects to the back of our nose. It's called the sinus. When that sinus becomes irritated or infected or inflamed, those are the same kind of pain signals that those can send through your tooth. So sometimes you can wake up and you can say, man, I got a headache. I think my sinuses are acting up. And then you think, I actually have a toothache as well. It's not always coming from the tooth. Sometimes that's coming from the sinus because they're neighbors of each other. That's one of the most important things that we would check for when you come in with a toothache. Let's say it's an upper tooth. Let's say it's a tooth near your sinus. We wouldn't be doing a good job if we didn't at least ask you, how are your sinuses doing? Is there any chance that this is something else and not your tooth? We'll absolutely screen for that when we see you for a toothache.
Why might I be experiencing a consistent dull toothache?
All right. You're minding your business. You're going about your day. You feel a little bit of toothache, but then it comes on. It doesn't go away. It's not the worst thing in the world, but you have a consistent dull toothache. What's going on? What are we going to do about it? There's lots of reasons you could have a consistent dull toothache. One of the most simple are you've injured the tooth. You bit on something heavy. You did a little, let's say it's an overuse injury to that tooth. I've seen that many times where it's a consistent dull ache, but eventually it goes away. There's things that we can do to help calm that down and make your recovery faster. Other reason for a dull, sort of long-term consistent ache behind the scenes can be a malfunction of a nerve. If that nerve is becoming unhealthy, if it's starting to ale, if it's starting the process of either dying or losing its ability to conduct, those kind of teeth can send dull, achy symptoms to you. And you'll know it. It just starts and it doesn't quite go away. It doesn't quite go away. Those are the ones that are the most tempting to ignore. If I don't do anything, maybe it'll go away, maybe I'll be all better. And I'd urge you, don't do that. Instead, get that one checked out because if there's something small that's irritating the nerve and we can remove that, there's a chance that your nerve could go on to recover and things could be fine. On the other hand, if that little irritation, whatever's causing that nerve to either malfunction or start to malfunction is not removed, that tooth can go on to have a complete malfunction or meltdown of that nerve. And in that case, our options are a little more limited on how we could help you to make those symptoms go away. That's something that we'd have to check into. So speed is a key here. If you have that little toothache, if you have that kind of deep behind-the-scenes ache, I want you to get that checked out as quickly as possible.
What should I do about extreme or unbearable tooth pain?
We talked about the dull ache and the dull pain. It's still important to get those checked out. And here's one that people run to the office for. Let's say you have a sharp pain. It's excruciating. You can't bear to touch it. You can't eat. You can't sleep. Those are horrible. I don't wish that on anybody. But there's things that we can do to help. In the short term, we can use something like anesthesia. Put a little numbing medication around that tooth. That at least gives you immediate relief. It might not solve the problem yet, but at least you can feel like a human. You can do some eating. You can do some drinking. It's bearable to touch that area again. That's the right time to have a conversation of, what's going on? How do I fix it? What are my options? How do I go about doing that and how quickly can we make it better? Let's do that first. Let's help put out the fire, give you some relief so that you can make a decision when you're not in pain. That's the right way to do that. We can help with all of those.
Is it normal to experience tooth pain after some dental procedures?
Let's say you've had a dental procedure. A crown, whatever it is, afterwards a tooth could be sensitive. It's not uncommon to have sensitivity after a procedure, especially if it was invasive. We would expect that after a surgery, but a lot of times people think, well, I had my tooth worked on. As soon as the numbing wears off, it should feel perfect. It doesn't always feel perfect right away. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to settle down, whether it's the skin around the tooth, it's the root system of the tooth, or it's the nerve in the tooth itself. It can be irritated for some amount of time. I don't want it to be irritating. You don't want it to be irritating. But it's something that's common. So if you've just had a dental procedure, give it a little bit of time to calm down. But as time goes by, it should be improving. And if it's not improving, that could be a sign that there's something still that's not quite right. I would much rather know about that as your dentist than have you just keep on going and keep on going and not mention it. I don't feel right about that. Pick up the phone. Give us a call. Let us know. Hey, it's not recovering as quickly as I thought it would. It's been a day or two days or three days or six days, and it's still not quite right. Communicate that to us. I'd want to double check that myself, and your dentist should too.
What can be done if I'm experiencing pain near dental implants, a bridge, or dentures?
Here's a situation that might worry you. Let's say you've had a crown or a bridge or a root canal, even an implant. And it's fine. But as time goes by, you're like, gosh, something doesn't feel right. And you remember back, you're like, God, that's where I've had a procedure. It could be your crown. It could be your implant. That would be more concerning. I don't want things that have been fixed in the past to go on and then cause you issues or problems in the future. I want them to get fixed and stay fixed. Now nothing man-made lasts forever, and the same might be true for your implant or your crown or your filling. But we want them to last a long time. And if they're giving you problems, that's something that early identification and early correction almost always gives us the best outcome. So make an appointment. Get in. Get that seen. Let's find out what that is when it's in its earliest stages. And then you're going to have the best chance of getting rid of that pain, keeping whatever work is in there, and going on to have a simple pain-free day.
What can I do at home to help alleviate tooth pain?
All right. You're at home and you have a toothache. It's hurting. You don't know what to do about it. There's all kinds of remedies that you have at the grocery store or that, you know, let's say it's that old remedy that your family has used for years and years. Sometimes those are actually good and they can be helpful, but there's others that are harmful that we don't recommend. One that I see often is to crush a pain pill, whether it's aspirin or something else, and actually put it in that area. Please don't do that. That's harsh on the gum tissue, causes a little chemical burn, and it's a coincidence. If your pain goes away afterwards, if you're going to take a pain medication, swallow it with water. It goes into your system and affects your whole body. That's a better way to do it. The other thing that I've seen people do is they've had antibiotics at home and they're like, Oh, I have this leftover. I'm going to start taking this. There's two reasons I don't like that. One is if it's old and it's expired or it's not prescribed for you, it might not be the right antibiotic. It might even be dangerous for you. The second reason is if you've had an infection, if you've had something that's going wrong, and you take a medication, let's say it does mask those symptoms, it might give you a little bit of relief, but when you show up to the office, if we're not able to find out what tooth it was coming from, which area was swollen, red, or infected, there's a chance we might not be able to tell which tooth was going wrong. That's going to slow down your eventual progress, your eventual treatment, and it's going to hurt our ability to say for sure which tooth is the one that gave you that irritation.
Can a dentist help me find a permanent solution to tooth pain?
Once we've found out the reason that a tooth is hurting, the next question is, how do we make it go away? That's what I'm here for. We got to find out what the reason is that that one's hurting, what the best course of action is, and how you can use the least costly way that lasts the longest to solve that problem. Most of the time, the solution that we choose is going to be the one that permanently relieves the pain, stabilizes that tooth, gives you something that you can still smile and chew and speak with, and is long-lasting. Those are the best choices. If there's a couple options, we'll talk to you about those, but the point is, if I'm offering a solution, it better be long-lasting, financially reasonable, and the best choice for you.
How soon can I schedule an appointment to treat tooth pain?
If your tooth hurts, speed is of essence. You want to get in as soon as you can, so pick up the phone and give us a call. Each day that we're in the office, we hold one emergency appointment open for you. If it's already taken, that would be a more difficult situation. Let's see if we can fit you in, but we plan on people having emergencies. We plan on having open time slots. Just make sure you contact us as soon as possible, and please, don't wait until the end of the week, until it's a Friday or until it's a Saturday. Those aren't times that we can get into the office easily. If something's going wrong, let us know sooner rather than later, and we'll give you one of those appointment times. They've reserved them for you.