Why Does My Tooth Still Hurt? And What Can You Do About It?
Sometimes when your tooth hurts, it might only be a brief pain that goes away. Perhaps your tooth is a little sensitive or you have been clenching your teeth through stress. However, often a tooth pain doesn’t simply go away. There’s usually an underlying cause, whether it’s a cavity, an infection or tooth that’s sensitive due to enamel that’s worn away. If you have a sore tooth that won’t go away, seeing your dentist will help you to find out what might be causing it and what treatment options you have to remove the pain. If your tooth is hurting, here’s how a dentist can help.
Causes of a Sore Tooth
When you first have a sore tooth, you might take some painkillers or perhaps avoid doing things that make your tooth hurt. But if the pain doesn’t go away, it’s important to find out what could be hurting your tooth.
There are many things that might cause a toothache. Some of them include:
- Tooth decay
- An abscess
- Infected tooth
- A fractured tooth
- A damaged filling
- Infected gums
- Teeth grinding or jaw clenching
You can’t often tell the cause of a toothache just by looking yourself. Sometimes you might be able to see obvious tooth decay, but even decay is not always easy to spot. If you have a toothache that won’t go away, your dentist is the best person to find out what the cause might be. They can do this by visually examining your teeth and taking X-rays of your mouth and jaw.
What Can a Dentist Do About My Painful Tooth?
There are plenty of ways a dentist can help with a tooth that’s hurting, depending on what’s causing it. If there is tooth decay, the answer might be to remove the decay and put in a filling, or sometimes to remove the tooth completely. A damaged tooth might be able to be repaired with a crown or bridge. When tooth pain is caused by infected tooth pulp, a root canal treatment cleans out the canals of the tooth and fills them in to remove the infection and the pain.
If you have a toothache or a tooth that is painful on and off, seeing a dentist is the first step. They will determine the problem and talk about the best treatment with you.
What to Do Before Getting to a Dentist
Although you might make an appointment to see a dentist, you might have to wait a few hours or days until your appointment. When waiting for your appointment, there are things that you can do to help with the pain. Taking over-the-counter painkillers is one option to help you deal with the pain while you’re waiting for your appointment with the dentist. You can also try rinsing your mouth out with warm salt water. An ice pack or cold compress on the side of your face can sometimes be helpful too.
If your tooth is hurting, make an appointment with one of our Nashua dentists at Rose Dental Nashua to find the cause and the right treatment.