Tooth Ache- Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment

Overview / Problems / Symptoms /

Dentist visit / Causes / Diagnosis / Treatments / 

Home remedies / Medication

OVERVIEW

-Toothache is a common problem nowadays. Because everybody follows different lifestyle which also includes various foods. Either they may be cold or hot depending on the situation.For example; we can say that someone may like to have hot coffee but at the same time other person may like to have cold coffee. This is what which results in the damaging of the tooth enamel and this makes the vessels visible, which hurts when we eat hot or cold food. 

-In common words toothache is nothing but the pain or inflammation in tooth or around it and is mainly caused by tooth decay or infection.

-You may have different symptoms during toothache, which we are going to discuss later in this article.

-It can have various causes which aren't due to underlying disease, which also we are going to discuss later.

-For treatments, remedies, cures and many more interesting information read the following article.

Underlying problems of toothache

• Tooth decay
• Abscessed tooth
• Damaged filling
• Infected gums
• Tooth fracture
• Biting something hard
• Getting something stuck in between the teeth
• Flossing
• Cavity
• Gum disease
• Gingivitis

Symptoms

        Symptoms of tooth ache may vary from person to person. Some of the people may experience blurred vision, because eyes are somehow connected to tooth by blood vessels. So damage in tooth causes blur vision. Some people may have headache due to tooth ache.
       Swelling in or around the tooth in mouth and the feeling of pain when pressure is applied, somehow, like while chewing food. Some people may experience fever or fatigue due to stress on vessels present in brain. Sometimes

pus or blood is also drained from tooth and some may also experience foul smell produced by damaged tooth.

          So overall symptoms may summarized as follows:

• Strong and sharp pain in or around the damaged tooth, when somehow pressure is applied on it.
• Swelling in mouth around the damaged tooth.
• Fever
• Headache
• Blood discharge from tooth
• Foul smell in mouth due to damaged tooth

When to visit a doctor ?

   Toothache is such a major problem, that if you don't pay attention to it then it can cause further damage or spread to the other teeth. But it is not possible because the pain is so serious that you can't bear it on your own. You must consult or visit a doctor so as to cure it.

     You must visit your dentist as soon as possible if:

• If the problem is present from last 2-3 days and is non curable with home remedies.
• The pain you are suffering is severe.
• You are not able to chew or open your mouth wide due to pain. 
• If you are not able to take proper diet and having mild fever and headache.

     It is of prime importance to take proper medication and treatment in order to fix the problem and prevent it's spread in other parts of the mouth and skull. It can also spread to bloodstream. So, visit your dentist as soon as you experience any condition from or as cited above.

What will dentist do when you visit him?

     
                To obtain the exact cause of your problem, he or she will examine you and check the extent of spread of the infection in your mouth. He or she will ask you some questions related to your problem. According to your severity he /she will suggest you some home remedies and also some medications.
                 He/she will examine your whole mouth, including teeth, gums, jaws, tongue, throat, sinuses, nose, ears and neck. Some lab tests will be done which include saliva test to check its pH and also x-rays may be taken, as well as other tests are also done to check for other problems.

Causes of toothache

                    There are many causes which are responsible for the toothache. These may include:

• Cavities
• Inflammation of pulp present in teeth
• Tooth enamel erosion
• Grinding of the teeth
• Bruxism
• Angina
• Sinus pressure
• Some type of mandibular disorder
• Periodontitis

                 This doesn't mean that every given situation may be the cause. Some of the given condition may be responsible for your toothache. So it is better to be recognize the cause earlier, which may also help in the proper and early treatment and may help in reducing the further complications.

Diagnosis

             When you visit a dentist, he/she will perform a series of diagnostic tests to get to the main cause of your toothache. The main thing doctor will do is he will take the dental x-ray, and check for the causes of toothache.

                They will try some things to get to the exact cause of the pain. Which may include cold stimuli, biting or chewing pressure and pressure in gums. Cold stimuli will help to determine if the tooth and the nerve are intact or the tooth is vital. It may be the cause of pulpitis also, which is the inflammation of the pulp. This information is sufficient to get to the perfect treatment.

                If the gum is hurting due to the applied pressure then it may due to the gum disease, which causes gum infection and results in destruction of jawbone. It may also be due to the disease called gingivitis. This also causes bleeding gums and also result in loose teeth. 

                After the diagnosis the disease can be cured earlier and the risk of its spread to other areas is under control. Treatments are depended upon the extent of cause of the disease. Some of the treatments are given below.
       

Treatment

                  Treatment for a toothache depends on the cause, which are listed above. It also depends on the extent of damage caused. Generally, dentist removes the infected or damaged area from your mouth. This prevents the further spreading of the disease or infection. If there's a cavity in your mouth, dentist removes the decay with the equipment and seal the hole with filling. This process can also be turned into root canal treatment when the decay is reached to the pulp and can't be removed easily. This decay is deep and has been exposed and infected with bacteria and this can also result in the damage of nearby tooth.

                 If the infection in the mouth is widespread then the antibiotic therapy is also done before root canal. The root canal treatment is painful, so doctor also prescribes some medications to deal with it.

                     The extraction of tooth is also done if the whole part of tooth is damaged and is also resulting in the damage of the jawbone and the surrounding areas. The process involving a local anesthesia. Dentist cleans the jaw pocked to prevent further buildup of debris. He/she will suggest an antibiotic to further aid in healing. Oral wash or mouth wash with chlorhexidine rinse is main aid for healing. The abscessed should be kept clean and it should be rinsed daily with warm water. Regular visits to the dentist are of prime importance.

                         

Home remedies for toothache

                        

           There are several ways by which you can lower the toothache at home by yourself. But these are temporary. They are useful for several time only. You can't rely on them to cure toothache. You must visit professional dentist to permanently cure the problem.

            Some of the methods to try at home to cure toothache are:

• Clove oil
• Salt water rinse
• Cold compress
• Hydrogen peroxide rinse
• Garlic
• Baking soda
• Thyme oil
• Peppermint tea bags
• Vanilla extract

           These work as the natural disinfectant and may help to cure your toothache. Rinsing mouth with salt water helps to remove debris and remaining food particles from your mouth. This also helps to heal the wounds and lower the inflammation in your gums. Hydrogen peroxide also works in the same way. cold compress, clove oil and the baking soda also helps to remove the pain and helps to cure the wounds and inflammation at faster rate. Garlic and vanilla extract are used to kill the harmful bacteria and helps to tighten the gums. In this way the harmful bacteria are removed and wounds are cured easily at home.

          These can be used at home to cure toothache, but it is very good to visit a doctor instead of using these because the pain may be gone for sometime and can return after a while.

Prevention
            
                   In these days, children doesn't pay attention towards cleanliness and protection of the teeth. They consume lot of sugary foods, such as chocolate, biscuits and candies. These all are harmful for teeth because the sugar promotes growth of bacteria and germs in mouth, which in turn are responsible for the damage of tooth and gums and may also result in cavities. These are painful and can damage other teeth also. So the question may arise; Is it possible to prevent a toothache? Scientifically, yes. It is possible to prevent teeth from getting damaged and from other diseases which cause toothache. So what are those ways through which we can prevent toothache? The ways are simple. But in order to achieve what we want, we must follow them properly.
                      Continuous efforts to maintain good oral hygiene, plays very important role in preventing oral problems.

• Tooth brushing is of prime importance to achieve ideal oral hygiene. By brushing your teeth twice a day may help to improve the gum strength and help to remove the remaining food particles and debris.
• Toothpaste also plays very crucial role to get strong teeth. The use of toothpaste for tooth brushing also depends on the quality of it. The toothpaste must be rich in fluoride. This improves the quality of enamel of teeth and also kills bacteria.
• Eating less sugary food at night is also a good way to reduce tooth decay. Because bacteria attack teeth mostly at night.
• Brushing teeth at night after dinner is also important. Because it removes remaining particles from the teeth. These particles are the main cause of tooth decay.
• Regular visit to your dentist to check your oral hygiene is also important in order to reduce the risk of tooth decay or damage. small cavities can be found before turning larger cavities and damaging the whole tooth. 
• Avoiding chewing on hard things such as ice, etc. can reduce the risk of tooth fractures which are very painful. Use of scissors to cut/open the packages of chips and biscuits is also important to prevent tooth fracture.
• Sometimes high acid containing foods, such as sugared beverages, are rich in Carbon dioxide and these cause tooth decay. So reducing their intake can help to demote bacteria growth.

" Prevention is better then cure ". This is true here in all aspects. It is always better to take care of your teeth before it will start to disturb your living. Stay in your limits and focus on your goals. It is better to follow above prevention tips to stay away from toothache.

Medications
   Some of the medicines suggested by doctors or dentists, while having toothache, are mentioned below:

• Ibuprofen (advil)
• Naproxen (aleve)
• Acitaminophen (tylenol)
• Aspirin
• Paracetamol
• Diclofenac
• Homeopathic options
• Sometimes home remedies are also applicable if pain is not severe

These medicines are taken to lower the pain caused by the damaged tooth or fractured tooth or cavity. These all work as painkillers. When you visit dentist he/she will suggest any from these by your conditions severity. You must follow the rules provided by your dentist and do not take any of these until prescribed by your dentist.

In order to prevent your mouth from oral infections or damages such as gum infections, cavity or toothache, you must follow the rules mentioned above. Toothache can be severe and sometimes operation of small scale is also required to remove the infection or damage, in order to stop its spread. So by taking care of your mouth and maintaining oral hygiene you can keep your mouth germs and bacteria free. These all small steps can be helpful in your future and are also responsible for keeping your teeth and gums strong.

                             

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