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| FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS?
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What is a Toothache?
"Toothache" is pain typically around a tooth, teeth or jaws. In most instances,
toothaches are caused by a dental problem, such as a dental cavity, a cracked
or fractured tooth, an exposed tooth root, or gum disease .
Sometimes diseases of the jaw joint (temporomandibular joint), or spasms of the
muscles used for chewing can cause toothache like symptoms.
The severity of a toothache can range from chronic and mild to sharp and
excruciating. It can be a dull ache or intense. The pain may be aggravated by
chewing or by thermal foods and liquids which are cold or hot. A thorough oral
examination, proper tooth testing and evaluation, along with appropriate dental
x-rays, can help determine the cause. What we want to know is whether the
toothache is really coming from a tooth or somewhere else.
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Aren't all toothaches caused by a
tooth or several teeth?
Nope. Sometimes, a "toothache" may be caused by a problem not originating from
a tooth or the jaw at all. Pain around the teeth and the jaws can be symptoms
of diseases of the heart (angina, heart attack), ears (such as inner or
external ear infections), and sinuses (air passages of the cheek bones) such as
sinusitis (infection of the sinus cavities).
For example, the pain of angina is usually located in the chest or the arm.
However, in some patients with angina, a toothache or jaw pain are the only
symptoms of their heart problem. Infections and diseases of the ears and
sinuses can also cause pain around the teeth and jaws.
Therefore, evaluations by both dentists and doctors are sometimes necessary to
diagnose medical illnesses causing a "toothache."
Keep in mind, while rare, some chronic toothache like pains are caused by
neuralgias and other nerve ailments.
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| What are some Dental causes of
Toothaches? |
A dental cavity or
decay which has inflamed the pulp. Left untreated this will progress to an
abscessed tooth. Sometimes, in spite of the decay removal and restoration the
pulp has become so inflamed that it continues to degenerate.
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Decay which has progressed to
invade the pulp and cause the pulp tissue to become infected resulting in an
abscessed tooth |
| Cracked, Split and Fractured
teeth can cause inflammation of the pulp and the tissues around the tooth. |
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Periodontal disease and receding
gums can expose tooth roots making them more sensitive to hot and cold foods.
Periodontal disease can cause pulpal inflammation via small canals that extend
from the outside of the tooth to the inside called lateral or accessory canals. |
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How do you diagnose whether it's a
tooth problem or something else?
Good Question. Endodontic diagnosis requires a practioneer to be through and
knowledgeable of anatomy of the region in addition to pain referral patterns.
We will test your suspect tooth and other teeth in the area with many different
tests. We always check if it is temperature sensitive to cold and possibly heat
and/or electricity (sounds terrible but it's not so bad -- I have had it done
to myself). Other tests that we routinely complete
include: tapping on your tooth to see if inflammation is present, rubbing the
gum area near the end of the roots for sensitivity, and measuring your gums to
check the periodontal health of the area including the "wigglyness" of your
tooth. Sometimes we have you bite on a stick and/or use a fiber optic light to
check for cracks or fractures which go through your tooth. Usually we will take
x-rays at various angles. Not only are we looking for an abscess but also the
anatomy of your tooth. Since you are 3 dimensional and X-rays are 2 dimensional
we lose information that we attempt to make this up by taking specialized
angles. X-rays alone are not sufficient for diagnosis. Just because there's
nothing on the X-ray's does not mean there is not a problem. Early stages of
pulp degeneration and some small abscess are not visible on the X-rays. Hence,
the reason we perform other tests! |
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