What’s Causing Your Tooth Pain?

Do you have tooth pain?

For relief from ongoing tooth pain, you’ll need to see your dentist or oral surgeon. In fact, a professional oral health examination may be the only way to determine the source of your problem and the appropriate course of treatment to eliminate your toothache.

Tooth pain can be caused by a number of dental and oral issues.

Tooth Pain with Hot or Cold Foods

Are your teeth extra sensitive to hot or cold foods?

If the sensitivity goes away quickly, you may not have a serious oral health issue. However, if tooth pain persists, you might have significantly worn enamel, tooth decay, tooth erosion or receding gums.

Switching to an extra-soft toothbrush and toothpaste made for sensitive teeth might help, but those measures won’t solve a serious toothache problem.

Tooth Pain when Biting or Chewing

Do you feel sudden, sharp tooth pain when biting down or chewing?

If so, you likely have a cracked or broken tooth. If the crack reaches the root, the pain can be severe. A sharp toothache can also be caused by decay and damage to the pulp inside the tooth.

Tooth Pain at the Rear of the Mouth

Is your tooth pain behind the molars? Are your gums at the back of your mouth tender and swollen?

If so, your wisdom teeth are probably to blame. When they begin to poke through the gums, teething can cause discomfort. Or if your wisdom teeth are impacted, they can’t emerge properly. In that case, toothache pain can spread into the jaw.

Throbbing Tooth Pain

Do you have a tooth that throbs?

A severe, throbbing toothache could be the result of a dental abscess. An abscess is a pocket of infection within the tooth root or the adjacent gums. Abscesses can develop as a result of an untreated dental cavity, cracked tooth, severe decay or gum disease.

Aching Tooth Pain

Do you feel dull toothache pain and pressure in your teeth and jaw?

If so, you might be grinding or clenching your teeth at night. Also known as bruxism, this oral habit can wear down tooth enamel, not only causing a toothache, but also leading to cracked or broken teeth.

Anxiety, stress and tension increase your risk of suffering this type of toothache pain, but the exact cause of bruxism isn’t scientifically understood.

Tooth Pain with a Sore Jaw

Is your toothache pain accompanied by soreness in the jaw joint? Do you feel discomfort when you open and close your mouth?

If so, you might be suffering from temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, a condition that may be caused by trauma or damage to the jaw joint cartilage or muscles, although researchers aren’t sure of the exact cause. Aside from toothache and jaw discomfort, TMJ can also result in headaches, earaches and pain in the sinuses, cheeks and neck.

If you have tooth pain and you live in the greater Salt Lake City area, visit Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery of Utah for expert treatment and relief from your discomfort. Contact our Cottonwood Heights, South Jordan or Tooele office to schedule a toothache consultation today.