Toothache - What Are the Causes?

introduction

Probably everyone has already made the unpleasant acquaintance with toothache. But why do people perceive the severity of a toothache so intensely? Or are they even more uncomfortable than pain in other parts of the body?

Are there systemic diseases that affect toothache and can stress change or even increase pain? Why do your teeth hurt when you have a cold?

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Common causes of toothache

Toothache can have a wide variety of causes, which is why it manifests itself in a variety of ways and is often not easy to diagnose.

Probably the simplest or most typical cause of toothache is tooth decay. It attacks the tooth from the outside and dissolves the hard, protective tooth surface, the enamel of the tooth. That's where the problem lies: has the outer layer collapsed, i.e. a "hole" is created, bacteria can penetrate more easily and penetrate further into the tooth interior.

In general, exposed dentin that is no longer covered by tooth enamel increases the sensitivity to pain. To relieve the pain, the exposed dentin must be covered.

Read on under: How can you rebuild tooth enamel?

If the bacteria penetrate the pulp, they infiltrate nerve and blood vessels and metabolize them. This condition of the inflamed tooth pulp is called pulpitis and is associated with severe acute pain, which also occurs spontaneously at night and when lying down. The sudden onset and painless phases that are always shortened are typical. A characteristic of inflammation of the tooth pulp is the pain that it radiates and that the patient is often unable to tell which tooth is affected.

Read more about this at: Toothache while lying down & Toothache at night

If the inflammation penetrates further, apical periodontitis develops, the tooth root inflammation, in which the tooth is sensitive to knocking and the person concerned feels pressure pain. Apical periodontitis can also affect the entire tooth bed and lead to severe hypersensitivity of the gums and also to bleeding gums.

Another possible case of toothache is the exposed tooth neck. If, for example, the gums on the tooth have receded due to excessive pressure with the toothbrush, the protective layer is missing there. Cold, warmth or mechanical forces are felt excessively clearly.

Furthermore, breaking teeth when changing teeth can cause pain, and in young adults often breaking wisdom teeth. If these cannot break through due to their position, they increasingly press on neighboring teeth, which leads to pain.

Stress as a cause of toothache

The harmful effects of excessive stress on the human body has already been scientifically proven and toothache can also be influenced by it. This increases with stress Stress hormone cortisol produced and released, which can increase pain perception and thus become one strengthen feeling of pain leads.

The daily peak of cortisol production is during the early morning hours (3-6 a.m.), which is why the Pain perception highest is, at midnight, pain is less noticeable due to the low concentration.
However, if production increases due to stress, so are those Complaints more intense to feel. Furthermore, the person processes events of the day while sleeping in dreams.

The sleeper unconsciously presses and rubs their teeth over one another and the tooth enamel is rubbed off. This so called crunch ensures that the Masticatory muscles tense. The chewing forces at night are so strong that the teeth holding apparatus cannot withstand these forces and develop pain. Also complaints to the Temporomandibular joints can occur. Due to the anatomical proximity to the head and neck, it is possible that complaints radiate from the oral cavity. Thus can Cluster headache or neck pain arise that can often not be assigned to the person concerned.

For more information, see: Grinding teeth

In the case of increased stressful situations during the day, the crunching during the night is strongly promoted, as it tries to process the day's events. By a Splint therapy at the dentist These symptoms can be relieved quickly, so that the teeth are prevented from grinding at night by a plastic splint and the muscles and joints can relax.

This could also be of interest to you: How can I reduce stress?

Toothache from general illnesses

Toothache that occurs in spite of healthy teeth and tooth support systems is usually the result of an illness. A rare but relevant condition associated with toothache is trigeminal neuralgia. There is a disease or sensory disorder of the fifth cranial nerve, the trigeminal nerve, which sensitively supplies the entire chewing apparatus.

Patients complain of unbearable pain, some of which make it impossible to touch or shave a beard. Since this disease is very difficult to diagnose because it has a variety of effects, patients are often all teeth extracted because of toothache at their request without any improvement, until only trigeminal neuralgia can be considered as a disease.

Furthermore, cluster headaches are radiating to the neck area and also the tooth area and can lead to the sensation of toothache despite healthy teeth. Pain in the dental area during a heart attack or acute angina pectoris is rare, but possible.

Toothache can occur after a severe cold that has affected the sinuses. Because of the close spatial relationship, this applies to the posterior teeth of the upper jaw. When coughing and sniffing or tilting the head, the patient feels a throbbing toothache, but this usually disappears after a week as the cold heals.

Also read the following topic: Cold with toothache

Can a cold lead to tooth melts?

Due to the anatomical proximity of the Maxillary teeth to the Maxillary sinuses A simple, straightforward cold can make teeth ache. It is not uncommon for the roots of the maxillary teeth to protrude into the maxillary sinus, creating a direct relationship between these structures.

So they can bacteria from the maxillary sinus can reach the teeth unhindered and cause inflammation pain. It is characteristic that the person concerned cannot localize the pain on one tooth, but rather groups of teeth or the entire upper jaw area is affected. In the majority of cases, these symptoms subside completely after the cold has subsided.

More about this at: Toothache during a cold

Can a sore throat also trigger a toothache?

Also Infections in the throat and pharynx can trigger toothache as the oral cavity and throat are connected. The patient complains of a burning sore throat and severe discomfort when swallowing. This pain can also radiate and be transmitted to teeth.

The inflammatory cells can spread from the throat region and reach the gums and the dental bed. So they can lead to gingivitis, a Inflammation of the gums or to one Periodontal disease, inflammation of the entire periodontium. These diseases not only cause severe soft tissue pain, they can also cause uncomfortable pain in the teeth. It is characteristic that cold relieves the symptoms and, for example, eating Ice cream beneficial is, while warm drinks and food the Aggravate pain.

It is advisable to see a doctor to treat the original throat infection. In most cases, the dental complaints also disappear after treatment of the sore throat, if this is not the case, a dentist should also be consulted.

Toothache when chewing

In most cases, tooth decay is responsible for chewing pain.

The carious tooth has a broken surface, and the hard tooth substance is no longer hard enough to hold the pulp, the pulp in which the nerve vessels lie, against Powers, the while chewing occur to protect. Eating Sweets can already lead to pain as it is broken down into acid in the mouth; this acid has a low pH value and is corrosive and further destroys the tooth structure.

The so-called chewing pain can also be Root inflammation This is because inflammation and swelling develops below the tip of the root, which leads to the tooth lifting. Although these are only the smallest changes in position, it can lead to the tooth essential experiences more stress than before and therefore just biting together hurts. When chewing, the tooth is loaded with more force than usual, since it is in contact first, and is pressed into the inflamed tissue, causing excruciating pain.

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