Do you experience pain in or around your tooth? Perhaps your tooth is sensitive to hot or cold temperatures. Maybe you’ve even noticed a strange taste in your mouth. When individuals experience these and other symptoms, there’s a good chance that the tooth has become infected. That’s why it’s important to schedule a visit with a dentist when you have a toothache.
WebMD reports that upon learning of a patient’s toothache, dentists begin by obtaining their medical history and performing a comprehensive dental examination. This is important, because there are many potential causes of tooth pain. Some of these include sinus infection, ear infection or even a viral or throat infection. Others include bruxism (grinding of clenching the teeth), a damaged filling, tooth fracture, impacted wisdom teeth or an abscessed tooth. Therefore, x-rays are usually taken to determine the exact cause of an individual’s toothache. In doing so, dentists can create a treatment protocol to repair the tooth and ease the patient’s pain.
Even so, tooth decay remains the primary cause of a toothache, and this refers to erosion of the tooth’s enamel and the formation of a cavity. This most likely begins when sticky plaque combines with bacteria from foods and beverages, creating an acidic substance that eats away at enamel. Subsequently, as tooth enamel is worn away, the underlying layer of a dentin is exposed, resulting in pain and sensitivity.
When a cavity has been detected, the main course of treatment is a dental filling. This involves removing bacteria and decay, and “filling in” the tooth with a protective material that preserves its structure and prevents further infection. Yet, depending on the size of the cavity and the extent of decay, tooth extraction and/or root canal therapy might be more suitable options. This is especially true if the tooth decay is severe, or if infection has formed within the tooth’s root.
Call Grateful Dental For Personal And Comfortable Dental Care That Will Put You At Ease
In many cases, when an individual has a toothache, there is some degree of anxiety when they come into the dentist’s office. That’s why Dr. Leia Porcaro and the team at Grateful Dental offer personal and comfortable dental care services that will put patients at ease.
If you have a toothache, call Grateful Dental today!
