Tooth sensitivity and pain
What different kinds of tooth pain and sensitivity can mean, what usually causes them and when to be seen.
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Toothache stopped on its own? Why an exam is still worth scheduling
Usually, yes. Pain stopping is not the same as the cause resolving. A cavity that has reached the dentin does not heal on its own, and an inflamed tooth nerve (the pulp)…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
What a dentist tests before recommending a root canal evaluation
A root canal evaluation should not rest on pain alone. The decision rests on tests that estimate the state of the pulp, the nerve inside the tooth: healthy, inflamed but…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Can acid reflux or acidic drinks make your teeth sensitive?
Yes. Both stomach acid from reflux and acid from drinks such as sodas, juices, wine and some citrus-flavored sparkling waters can soften and gradually dissolve enamel…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Sensitivity near an old filling: repair or replace, and the questions to ask
New sensitivity around a filling that has been comfortable for years usually means something has changed at its edge or underneath: a gap or leak at the margin, decay…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Numbness is not the same as tooth pain: what to report, and how quickly
Yes. Numbness, tingling, or a tooth, lip, chin or tongue that "feels nothing" is a different signal from pain and deserves its own report. Pain usually points to a tooth…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Why tooth sensitivity can come back after it improves, and what to check
Tooth sensitivity usually comes from dentin, the layer under the enamel, whose tiny tubules carry cold, sweet or touch to the nerve once they are exposed. It improves…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
How teeth grinding can make your teeth feel sore, and how to tell it from other pain
Grinding and clenching, which dentists call bruxism, hold force on the teeth far longer than chewing does, often during sleep when you cannot feel it. Under that…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
A painful tooth with no visible cavity: what the exam may check
Tooth pain often comes from something you cannot see in a mirror. Common hidden causes include decay between teeth or under an existing filling or crown, a crack, an…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Sensitivity after a filling: which patterns usually settle and which need a follow-up
Some sensitivity after a filling is common. A brief twinge with cold drinks, cold air or sweet foods in the first days to a few weeks is the usual pattern, and it…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
One sensitive tooth or many: why the pattern changes what your dentist looks for
Sensitivity confined to one tooth more often points to a problem in that tooth: decay reaching the dentin, a worn or leaking filling, a crack, a single exposed root, or…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Can sinus pressure feel like a toothache? How to tell the two apart, and who to see
Yes. The roots of the upper back teeth sit close to the floor of the maxillary sinus, so congestion or a sinus infection can make several upper teeth ache at once…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Why a tooth can hurt when the X-ray looks normal: what else an examination checks
A tooth can hurt while its X-ray looks normal, because of what an X-ray cannot show. An X-ray pictures hard structure: enamel, dentin, fillings and the bone around the…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Sensitive-tooth toothpaste: when it may help, and when a dentist needs to look
Sensitive-tooth (desensitizing) toothpaste can be a reasonable first step when several teeth give a short, sharp twinge to cold, sweet or touch and the feeling stops as…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Can gum recession make a tooth sensitive? Why exposed roots react, and what helps
Yes, often. When the gum pulls back from a tooth, it uncovers root surface that has no enamel. The thin covering on a root wears away easily, and the dentin underneath…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Hot versus cold tooth pain: what the trigger tells your dentist about the nerve
Brief cold sensitivity that fades within seconds usually points to exposed dentin or a mildly irritated nerve that can settle once the cause is treated. Cold pain that…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Why whitening can make teeth sensitive for a while, and when to call
Whitening gels work because peroxide passes through enamel into the dentin underneath, where it can briefly irritate the nerve inside the tooth. That is why short, sharp…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Why teeth can feel sensitive after a professional cleaning
Mild sensitivity to cold, air or touch after a cleaning is common and usually short-lived. A cleaning removes plaque and tartar that were sitting on the teeth, and…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Sharp pain when you release your bite: the cracked-tooth clue explained
A sharp, brief pain when you let go after biting, rather than when you press down, is a classic sign of a cracked tooth. Chewing can flex the two sides of a crack apart…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Sweet foods hurt one tooth: possible causes to discuss with your dentist
A tooth that hurts when you eat something sweet usually has exposed dentin, the layer beneath the enamel. Sugars pull fluid through tiny tubules in that dentin, and the…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Cold sensitivity that lingers: what your dentist wants to know
How long the pain lasts after the cold is gone is the detail your dentist most wants. A sharp twinge that fades within a few seconds is usually dentin hypersensitivity…
- Tooth sensitivity and pain
Why does one tooth hurt when you bite? Patterns that point to the cause
Pain in one tooth when you bite usually means that tooth, or the tissue holding it, is being loaded in a way it cannot tolerate. The common causes are a crack in the…