Your Dentist in Murphy Knows Pain Is Not Always A Cavity

You barely make it in the door before you open the package of ice cream. This is your one sweet treat for the week, and you plan on enjoying it immensely. You pile a few too many scoops into your bowl and dig your spoon in like you’re mining for gold. You take a bite waiting for the delightful flavor, but you are met with searing pain. You manage to swallow, but you can still feel your tooth throbbing. You go to look in the mirror and your teeth appear fine, so what is causing the pain? Your dentist in Murphy wants you to know other reasons why your teeth may be hurting.

Other Reasons for Tooth Pain

The most common cause of a toothache is a cavity. This is when plaque and bacteria have started breaking down the enamel on your teeth, exposing the delicate nerve. Most people know the common signs for a cavity, but pain alone doesn’t mean you have one. There are other reasons your teeth might be experiencing discomfort.

Sensitive Teeth

Despite your best efforts, tooth enamel naturally wears down over time. This can occur from consuming acidic foods, genetics, or simply ageing. The key indicator that you have sensitive teeth is if the pain only occurs when you consume foods that are very hot or cold. The nerve isn’t protected like it is in your other teeth, therefore you feel pain. Take special care to brush with a soft-bristled brush and use toothpaste geared towards sensitive teeth to help alleviate this.

Damaged Teeth

Teeth can become cracked, chipped, or broken for a number of reasons. Many times people will not notice a tooth has become damaged until it starts hurting. Injury, or eating particularly hard foods can lead to broken teeth. There are a number of ways of fixing them if this is true for you.

It Might Not Even Be Your Teeth

Sometimes teeth pain can be the result of nighttime teeth grinding, or bruxism. This is caused by an involuntary clenching of the jaw while you sleep, and can put teeth under an extensive amount of pressure.  Temporomandibular disorders, or TMD, involve pain in the jaw joints that are in front of your ears. This can be caused by injury to the jaw, arthritis, or stress. This pain can easily radiate down and be felt in your teeth.

What Can I Do?

If you are experiencing any type of dental pain, you should come visit us at Murphy Family Dentistry right away. Even a minor toothache could be an early sign of a much more serious problem, and it will be much easier to catch it and treat it early. No matter what is causing you dental pain, we know we can treat it and provide you the relief you need.