Puan Jannah is a sweet charismatic lady who wishes to have a brand new set of upper and lower dentures . She wore her upper full denture only for the past few years, leading to difficulty in chewing solid food and indigestion. Her old upper…
Do you remember when was your last dental check-up ? generally, everyone is slightly afraid of the dentists and will visit the dental clinic only when he/she is experiencing pain or discomfort. But do you know , besides treating your teeth and gum, dentists will…
Have you ever suffered from an excruciating tooth ache before? As a dentist, I had experience several kinds of dental treatments like scaling, extractions and fillings.
So, I understand the kind of mild discomfort felt by patients as a result of those treatments.
I guess the pain that I felt was really nothing compared to the patients that come to us due to severe dental pain.
Some of my patients claimed that their dental pain was the worst. While some of my female patients claimed that dental pain was the 2nd worst after delivering a baby! Wow! That’s very high in ranking. Don’t you think so?
Realizing the significance of dental pain and its negative impact to our quality of life, I have decided to share with you the most common causes of dental pain and the treatment options available.
Tooth ache maybe caused by
The symptoms of tooth ache may include
The most common cause of dental pain is due to cavity or also known as dental caries.
Dental caries occurs as a result of plaque build-up on your teeth which helps ‘feed’ the bacteria inside your mouth.
Dental plaque is a sticky layer formed from our food remnants. If it is not cleaned properly it will act as an excess food to the germs.
The oral bacteria will receive energy from the plaque and will ‘happily’ release acidic toxins that eventually will lead to cavity formation.
If left untreated, the bacteria will work its way through your tooth cavity and causes infection of the pulp, a softer part of your tooth which contains nerve and delicate blood vessels.
In order to understand this better, it helps to know about the anatomy of the tooth as in the picture shown.
In a fully developed tooth, the tooth can survive without the pulp because the tooth continues to be nourished by the tissues surrounding it.
Hence, taking the tooth out is not the only solution for tooth pain!
Depending on the types of pulp disease, the symptom varies in intensity. When the bacteria invade the pulp, our immune cells act like soldiers to save our pulp.
So, just imagine, it’s like a world war going on in your tiny little tooth! That’s when the intense pain occurs!
Inflammatory cells will be released causing inflammation of the pulp called pulpitis.
Reversible pulpitis will lead to symptoms of pain when you eat something too hot, cold or sweet.
At this stage, the pulp can be saved by just a simple, normal filling. Reversible means the damage in the pulp is repairable.
The consequences of untreated reversible pulpitis are irreversible pulpitis followed by necrotic (dead) pulp and eventually may lead to root abscess. At these stages, the pulp is beyond repair and normal filling will not be sufficient.
The treatment options at this stage will be either be extraction or root canal treatment.
These conditions are very common as we see them on daily basis! The good news is we are always ready to help :)! We will do our best to help alleviate the pain.
Often a badly broken down tooth can be saved with root canal treatment rather than being lost forever to extraction. That way, you get to keep your own tooth, which is always the best solution from a dental perspective.
During root canal treatment, the inflamed or infected pulp is removed and the inside of the tooth is carefully cleaned and disinfected, then filled and sealed with a rubber-like material called gutta-percha.
Then, the tooth is restored with a crown or filling for protection. After restoration, the tooth continues to function like any other tooth.
In Klinik Pergigian Fauziah, the procedure can be completed in 2 to 3 appointments depending on the condition of your tooth and your personal circumstances.
Saving a natural tooth has many advantages. You get to chew efficiently, maintain the natural look and preserve the normal biting force and sensation.
Root canal treatment helps you maintain your natural smile, continue eating the food you love and limits the need for ongoing dental work.
With proper care, most teeth that have had root canal treatment can last as long as other natural teeth and often for a lifetime.
So if you suffer from dental pain, it is not the end of the world ;-). We are more than happy to assist you. Painless dentistry is our aim. Make an appointment and feel the difference! – Dr. Shanaz