Tooth pain can be extremely uncomfortable. Pain is usually described as a highly unpleasant physical sensation caused by illness or injury. It can be experienced anywhere in the body and can be of any type, one of the most common types of pain is dental pain. We all can experience some form of dental pain at some point in our life. In order for your dentist to diagnose the problem, it is important to make a note of a few factors regarding pain:
i) Where exactly are you experiencing the pain (SITE), Sometimes dental pain/tooth pain can be mistaken with facial pain/sinusitis pain/ ear pain / TMJ pain.
ii) What’s the character of pain – is it dull/sharp/ throbbing/burning etc.
Iii) Whether the pain is radiating/spreading anywhere
IV) Anything that triggers the pain – like hot/ cold/sweet food.
v) Anything that eases the pain like any medication etc.
vi) Also, is pain associated with any swelling / bad breath / bad taste/fever etc.?
Even if you’re experiencing any pain in your face which you think is unrelated to any tooth like pain in jaw joint/ ear/pain in facial muscles/ a headache/pain over the cheeks it’s best to see your dentist so that your dentist can assess your teeth and soft tissues and rule out any dental related problem.
Tooth pain could be because of various reasons
The most common reason being decay which is usually perceived as sensitivity to cold/ sweet in case of initial decay or very severe sharp pain/abscesses in case the decay is very deep. Apart from that, you may also experience tooth pain in case any gum inflammation, wisdom tooth coming through any dislodged filling, etc.
If you’re experiencing any tooth related pain please book an emergency appointment with your dentist. Meanwhile, try and keep your oral hygiene as meticulous as possible, use normal painkiller and hot salt mouth rinse. However, if it’s very severe pain and associated with swelling and inflammation it’s best to ring 111 or go to AnE.
Also in order to prevent such unexpected dental pain, it’s advisable to see your dentist at least twice a year.