When Is It A Toothache, And When Is It A Sensitive Tooth?
Tooth pain can be anything from mildly annoying to very alarming. The causes can vary, from common conditions that actually aren't urgent to infections that require immediate attention. When you have tooth pain, identifying the times and conditions in which it occurs can help you determine how to react.
The Causes of Toothaches and Tooth Sensitivity
Any type of tooth pain indicates that there has been some breach of your teeth or gums' natural boundaries. Sensitive teeth are caused by a wearing away of the enamel or a small surface crack that exposes the dentin layer underneath. This can happen if you chew hard items like ice, for example. They aren't actual cavities, but they can be achy. Tooth sensitivity, once it's been diagnosed, is not considered an emergency, but you still need to have it diagnosed by a dentist. Don't assume something is tooth sensitivity if you've never had it before.
Other toothaches may be caused by infections, cavities, root problems, gum infections, or inflammation of tooth pulp, and these definitely are more urgent. Your dentist will examine your teeth and gums, and they may order x-rays.
Pain That Occurs in Specific Conditions
In terms of symptoms, the way the toothache occurs is how you can often distinguish between the two types of tooth pain. Sensitive teeth ache in response to specific stimuli. These differ for everyone, but they often include eating or drinking something very hot or cold, eating something very sweet, or inhaling very cold air through your mouth. The pain flares up and then dies down.
Toothaches due to other causes may ache continuously, they may ache when the tooth is touched by anything, or they may ache randomly. There won't really seem to be any consistency, except for the tooth hurting whenever anything touches it.
How to Know if It's an Emergency
Sometimes the signs of a dental emergency are obvious: bleeding, swelling, and never-ending severe pain. Those are all times when you should call your dentist right now, obviously. But if the tooth is not showing signs like that and only intermittently hurts, do you call now or, if the office is currently closed, wait until the next time the office is open? If the pain is in response to specific conditions, like when you eat something very hot or very cold, avoid those conditions and call at least right when the office opens next. You can call earlier, and you'll speak to an answering service who may be able to set up an appointment for you. Again, this is only if the only symptom is some pain. If you see swelling or anything else, you want to go to an emergency dentist, who your dentist's answering service may have a number for.
If the pain is constant, though, call now. You want to speak to someone either in your dentist's office or in the emergency dental clinic that your dentist has chosen for off-hours work. Constant pain is a sign that something is actively bad and needs attention now.
Contact a local dentist to learn more about toothaches.
Share