Toothache pain cannot be ignored. Anyone who has experienced the misery of a toothache can tell you that the pain is unrelenting and unbearable. There are many causes for pain including decay, infection, trauma to the tooth, gum disease, and more. Regardless of the root cause of your pain, if you have a toothache you’ll want it gone and you’ll want it gone immediately.
A lot of times people try to cope with a toothache on their own. Maybe it’s because they think the pain will subside. Maybe it’s because they don’t want to visit the dentist for any number of reasons including fear or lack of insurance. Whatever your reason for trying to handle a toothache on your own, you need to know that toothache pain will not be wished away. And those over-the-counter toothache pain relievers are not a true solution but rather a temporary fix. Only your dentist can locate the source of your toothache pain and fix it for you so that you can experience relief.
If you have a broken tooth or a missing filling, it may be obvious why your tooth hurts. When you have unexplained pain there are a variety of reasons that could be to blame, but sometimes a cracked tooth is responsible. If you have a toothache but you can’t feel or see anything obviously wrong with your tooth, you may have a cracked tooth.
The Michigan Dental Association (MDA) explains on their website www.SmileMichigan.com: “While there are many reasons a tooth cracks, it most commonly happens when you get hit in the mouth or as a result of clenching or grinding your teeth.” A cracked tooth would most likely be naked to the human eye so your tooth could look perfectly normal if you try to get a good look at it in the mirror. According to the MDA, the telltale sign of a cracked tooth is to “experience sudden, sharp pain whenever you chew.”
So what do you do if you think you may have a cracked tooth? You need to call your dentist. He or she will do a complete examination and take any necessary x-rays to determine the cause of your toothache. Then, your dentist will decide the best course of action to treat your toothache pain. Make sure to report to your dentist if you’ve noticed any sensitivity to hot or cold or pain when biting or chewing. It is important not to delay your visit to your dentist if you have a toothache since the problem could easily worsen. If you have an infection, it will not heal on its own.
The website I mentioned earlier, www.SmileMichigan.com, can help you find a new dentist if you don’t have one. There is no good excuse for avoiding treatment. If you don’t have dental insurance and are worried about the cost, many dental offices will work with you to set up a payment plan. If you are fearful or apprehensive about the dentist, many dentists offer sedation in-office so that their patients can be comfortable throughout their dental treatment.
Bright Side Dental is a dental group with locations in Sterling Heights, Livonia, Canton, and Royal Oak, Michigan. Visit www.BrightSideDental.com.