Jul 23, 2022
Tooth pain can alarm everyone bringing the most strong-hearted to their knees. When you develop tooth pain, it can cause discomfort making it uncomfortable to have your favorite foods or even enjoy some ice-cold water. As the pain worsens and becomes excruciating to manage, you might consider readily available over-the-counter medications promoting relief. You might also look at Home remedies to find natural relief from the pain. Unfortunately, severe toothaches do not heal by themselves without intervention from the dentist near me in Westminster.
In severe instances of tooth pain, you might require oral surgery to treat the cause of the issue, which might result from a damaged nerve. Therefore if you are experiencing tooth pain, do not delay contacting your dentist and explaining your concerns. The longer you delay receiving treatment, the severity of the problem increases.
How to Identify Tooth Nerve Damage?
The most familiar reason for tooth pain is often nerve damage surrounding the tooth. If you have a damaged tooth nerve, it becomes sensitive to the movement of the tooth besides extremely hot or cold temperatures. The sensitivity can make eating most foods or drinking any beverages uncomfortable.
There are two main reasons for tooth nerve pain. They are:
Pulpal Sensitivity:pain caused by damage surrounding the nerves surrounding the dental pulp of a single tooth is identified as pulpal damage. The discomfort will remain in a specific tooth when you develop this damage. Common reasons for such damages include a chipped or cracked tooth, tooth decay, and dental work, including fillings. You might develop sensitivity from prolonged clenching and grinding of your teeth.
Dental Sensitivity:Dental sensitivity affects your mouth besides a specific tooth. Nerve damage causing tooth sensitivity occurs from damage to the tooth enamel from chips or cracks or enamel erosion. The damage to the enamel permits external stimuli to access the nerves of the teeth to cause pain when eating hot, cold, acidic foods. You can develop tooth sensitivity if you frequently and repeatedly use teeth whitening products responsible for breaking down enamel and leaving your teeth open to damage.
What Will I Feel If I Have a Damaged Tooth Nerve?
You do not develop tooth nerve damage overnight because the problem develops gradually. You will initially feel a dull pain in your mouth which gradually builds into severe discomfort. If you contact your dental care provider immediately, they can help you alleviate the discomfort making it less likely to need a dental Surgeon to provide intensive treatments.
Maintaining excellent dental hygiene, including brushing and flossing your teeth as recommended by your dentist, can help prevent the development of tooth nerve discomfort. However, the pain can always develop due to many reasons. When you begin experiencing the pain, it starts as a dull ache along your gum line, pain targeting a single tooth or radiating throughout your mouth with discomfort that worsens after eating hot, cold, or acidic foods.
Familiar Treatments for Tooth Nerve Pain
There are several treatment modalities dentists use to treat tooth nerve pain. If you approach your dentist soon after you begin experiencing the discomfort, the professional might provide dental fillings to restore your tooth. During your treatment, the area surrounding the affected tooth receives numbing medication to remove the decayed portion and fill it with a dental filler to prevent external stimuli from aggravating the nerves surrounding the tooth.
Unfortunately, if you delay treatment, thinking the tooth pain will heal by itself, you allow your mouth bacteria to infect the dental pulp by severely damaging your tooth. Dentists have a treatment for dental pulp infections when they remove the damaged nerve entirely from your tooth. However, you must undergo the dreaded and feared root canal to find relief from the pain you experience.
Although the mention of undergoing endodontic therapy will cause concern and fear in your mind, it helps if you understand the treatment is beneficial not merely to preserve your natural tooth but also prevent other problems that might affect you if you leave the damaged nerve untreated in your mouth.
Whenever you develop tooth pain that doesn’t subside within 48 hours and causes sensitivity in your mouth when eating or drinking hot or cold foods, you must contact your dentist immediately to determine whether you have a damaged tooth nerve. If you do, you must get the necessary treatment to prevent the problem from worsening. Unfortunately, if it is too late, the only option available for you is to undergo a root canal or have the tooth extracted.
Fox Creek Dental by Espire Westminster provides effective and efficient treatments for tooth nerve damage. If you experience any pain in your tooth and find it challenging to overcome the discomfort, kindly contact this practice to have your tooth treated today.
FAQs
Here are some of the most common signs of tooth nerve pain: A dull ache along the gum line. Pain that targets a single tooth or radiates throughout the mouth. Discomfort that worsens after eating, especially following meals that are hot, cold, or acidic.
Can dental nerve damage heal on its own? ›
Nerve Damage Does Not Heal Itself…
There may be times where a dentist could identify techniques to reverse minor nerve pain, but only when there is mild inflammation. When symptoms are minor and the root of the tooth is exposed, a dental filling is considered by the dentist.
Can you reverse tooth nerve damage? ›
Under certain circ*mstances, nerve pain can be reversed if the inflammation is mild and the tooth pulp not irreversibly damaged. This may involve the placement of a filling. However, if symptoms are severe, a root canal may be required.
How to calm an irritated tooth nerve? ›
Benzocaine or Lidocaine oral gel: These topical anesthetics can provide temporary relief by numbing the affected area. Apply a small amount directly to the painful tooth and gum area as directed on the packaging. Clove oil: Clove oil has natural numbing properties and has been used for tooth pain relief for many years.
What does a dying nerve in a tooth feel like? ›
Tooth Sensitivity or Pain – As the nerves that lead to a dying tooth begin to die away, they may become extra sensitive, causing you a tooth ache or sensitivity to hot or cold foods. You may experience pain while chewing at or around the site of the dead tooth.
How do you prove dental nerve damage? ›
What are the Signs of Tooth Nerve Damage?
- Numbness or lack of feeling in the tongue, gums, cheeks, jaw or face.
- A tingling or pulling sensation in these areas.
- Pain or a burning feeling in these areas.
- Loss of ability to taste.
- Difficulties with speech due to one or more of the above.
How Long Does Nerve Pain Last in A Tooth? On average, a tooth nerve pain can last from as little as just a few days to as long as 4-6weeks or, in some instances, even longer. Considering the numbness ad sharp pain that may occur with a tooth nerve, you have to do what you can to get rid of the pain as soon as possible.
What does oral nerve damage feel like? ›
The set of orofacial neuropathies includes a spectrum of symptoms, although they are broadly characterized by: Sensations of pain, aching, burning, numbness or tingling.
Will pulling a tooth stop nerve pain? ›
The nerve inside the tooth becomes irritated, and it sends massive pain signals to the brain. An extraction handles the problem by removing the tooth, including the infected tissue and the nerve that was responsible for the pain.
Will tooth nerve pain eventually go away? ›
In some cases, nerve pain in the tooth can go away on its own if the cause of it is temporary. For example, nerve pain from a cracked tooth may go away if the crack does not deepen and the nerve is left undamaged.
With irreversible pulpitis, you may experience: Pain when your dentist taps the tooth. Sensitivity to heat, cold or sweets that lasts more than a few seconds. This can be a throbbing, aching or sharp pain.
How does a dentist fix a tooth nerve? ›
You might need a root canal if your tooth pulp, which is composed of nerves and blood vessels, becomes infected or damaged. During the procedure, the pulp is removed, and the inside of your tooth is cleaned and sealed. Root canal therapy has a high success rate and may last your lifetime.
What does an inflamed tooth nerve feel like? ›
When a tooth nerve becomes infected, it can lead to extreme sensitivity and pain in the affected area. Many who suffer a tooth nerve infection do not understand the cause of the infection, which makes it more difficult to treat.
Does Orajel help with nerve pain? ›
How do you numb the exposed tooth nerve? Toothpaste designed to desensitize teeth, such as Sensodyne Repair and Protect or Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief, can provide relief. Applying an anesthetic gel like Orajel to the affected area can help to numb the pain.
What aggravates a tooth nerve? ›
Cold beverages (soda causes sensitivity and erodes enamel, according to the University of Nebraska Medical Center) Hot foods (allow them to cool) Cold foods (no ice cream or other freezer items) Acidic foods (pickles, tomatoes, citrus fruits) and beverages.
Can you fix nerve damage in teeth? ›
Root canals – These can be used to remove damaged nerve tissue and relieve nerve pain. Medications – Pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen can be used to reduce nerve pain. Laser dentistry – This treatment can be used to remove nerve endings and reduce nerve pain.
How do you restore nerves in your teeth? ›
Root canal is a dental procedure to repair and save your tooth when it's badly decayed, damaged, or infected. Why would you need a root canal? You might need a root canal if your tooth pulp, which is composed of nerves and blood vessels, becomes infected or damaged.
How do you test a tooth nerve? ›
Cold. Cold testing tests proper tooth nerve function. Often, a refrigerant sprayed on a cotton pellet is placed on a tooth to test normal function. A healthy tooth nerve will feel sense slight discomfort from the cold and will return to normal when the cold pellet is removed.
What are the symptoms of an exposed nerve in a tooth? ›
What are the symptoms of an exposed nerve?
- Deep and sharp shooting pain.
- Red, inflamed, swollen, or bleeding gums.
- Change of tooth appearance / discolouration.
- Longer looking teeth may indicate your gum line is receding.
