7 Types of Tooth Pain commonly experienced

We all behold many kind of fears deep within our hearts. These are our worst nightmares. People fear various things or creatures like height, insects, reptiles, darkness and many more. But the bid bad boy of all these is dental pain or tooth pain.

Anyone who has ever suffered through it know pretty well why they say so about it. Tooth pain is one such kind of pain that application of pressure is not always very effective. Thus, rendering the patient helpless to deal with it. Ultimately most of the people resort to consuming some over the counter pain medicines. And we all know they do have some side effects in the long run.

Even if you take some pain killers, it is just a temporary measure. If you have the misfortune of experiencing dental pain, do not fret. Go and consult your dentist. But many times people wonder what their pain is arising from? Or few people while comparing their suffering with others, wonder about the difference in experienced nature of pain. Such thoughts often lead them to worry if their pain is due to some serious issues.

Some terms which you need to understand before we get into the details:

Caries: It is the process of deterioration of the tooth. You all know about tooth cavities right? So the complete procedure whose end result is cavities is caries. It happens due to a cumulative action of micro-organisms, food debris, susceptibility of tooth structure and time duration of the ongoing process.

Mobility: Tooth sometimes loses its support system, in toto or in fractions. This doesn’t immediately lead to the tooth to get completely displace. It is a slow process where tooth microscopically starts its movement until further destruction. With excessive damage, tooth become noticeably mobile. The whole process may be painful to few.

Tooth attrition: These are tooth injuries that occur either due to tooth grinding or clenching or with age. Enamel wears off in this and at times exposes dentin.

Tooth abrasion: In this injury occurs due to mechanical wear like forceful brushing. You would see its defects mostly on the tooth surface near to gums. Most often they are wedge shaped. Here also enamel wears off gradually leading to dentinal exposure.

Enamel, dentin and pulp: These are the three layers of the tooth. Enamel is the non-vital outermost white layer that you see. It is the hardest substance of the body. Dentin lies below enamel and is also non vital. It has a cushioning effect and contains few nerve endings. Pulp is the innermost vital layer. It contains all blood vessels, viable tissues and nerves of the tooth. The pulp is responsible for tooth’s nutrition and viability.

This article is for all those over-thinkers, inquisitive and wandering souls. We have tried compiling a list of dental pains that you most commonly would suffer. The brief description of each would help you relate with and understand the pain and its root. Let’s dive into it.

01. Dull slow pain

Some even describe the pain as sweet in nature. Now if you are wondering how tooth pain can be sweet, think again. Pain is nothing but a sensation. Sometimes this sensation can be a little pleasurable to experience, like hitting a sweet spot.

This pain is often experienced during initiation of any lesion. It can be starting of cavities or tooth People often ignore such kind of pain. So here is the catch guys. Since it is the pain of initiation, it means something is going to come following it. So if you experience it, visit your dentist.

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02. Dull throbbing pain

This pain would go around in pulsations. You won’t feel the intensity as too high. But high enough to make it uncomfortable. Such pain is often intermittent, but few have reported continuous pain as well.

It is often experienced when caries, attrition or abrasion has progressed up to dentin. As mentioned dentin has some nerve ending. So if the irritation happens there, you experience this kind of pain. Even this requires you to consult the doctor.

03. Sharp stabbing pain

Sometimes you experience such severe pain, as if someone has stabbed you with knife. Such pain is very debilitating. It may last for a few seconds or minutes to hours depending on the severity of the lesion.

This often occurs when the lesions are very close to pulp. Diving them may be just 0-2mm of dentin. Or if the pain is continuous and very severe then it may also be because the injury has already approached pulp. You might see and feel a hole like defect on your teeth by this stage.

04. Sharp throbbing pain

Often experienced as a result of tooth sensitivity, this pain can be occasional or intermittent. You might experience it during consumption of sweet, hot or cold food items. This pain arises due to dentin exposure where remaining dentin is approaching pulp.

This pain may be accompany tooth defects like crack, fracture, attrition, abrasion or caries. Sometimes it may occur because your enamel layer is congenitally thin because of some medical condition. You need to seek medical attention for all kind of sensitivity to curb it.

05. Pain on chewing

Sometimes you experience pain when you chew. This pain might be so severe in intensity that you try to refrain from chewing. But we all know, how well can that work? We have to eat, and to eat we have to chew.

Tooth pain on pressure is mostly because of abscess or injury at the tooth root apex. This occurs because the toxic substances formed in tooth by micro-organisms has reached at the bottom of tooth Tooth root resides in bone and gums.

Sometimes you may feel some swelling adjacent to the area of pain. It’s better to consult with your dentist at that very moment. Such swellings are due to a growing abscess below your tooth.

06. Pain when you release pressure

Tooth pain works in many ways. In this case you do not experience pain while your teeth are pressed together, but immediately feel it on release of pressure. This is because of some cracks in the tooth. It is also called as “Crack Tooth Syndrome”.

These cracks may have developed because of sudden heavy pressure. This may happen due to chewing something hard or trauma due to fall. Always consult your dentist in this condition. He would take an x-ray and treat according to the extent of the lesion.

07.Pain in the rear end of mouth

People at times complain of pain in the back of your mouth. Such pain often occurs because of erupting wisdom tooth or third molar. This last tooth erupts around the age of 18-25 years.

Mostly this tooth erupts without any issues. But few times, the tooth erupts in deviated path. In such condition, it may impinge upon the near-by tooth causing pain.

Pain may also be because of partially erupted tooth. In this condition, part of the tooth is covered with a flap of gums. This flap may get inflamed due to deposited debris. It may also hurt because of opposing completely erupted tooth. Either ways, the pain is disturbing to the patient. If you are experiencing this, then consult your dentist. Most of third molar related problems end with its extraction.

Now you have a clear idea of what is causing your pain. It is safe to say that whatever remedies you try to do, the permanent solution can only be suggested by your dentist. So, if you are feeling any of these pains, schedule an appointment soon and get treated.