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Toothache – one of the strongest discomfort, which can not tolerate not everyone and, as a rule, not for a long time. Tooth pain makes even the most ardent “opponent” of dentists to go to the hospital, even if for some time a person tries to cope with the situation with ordinary painkillers or folk remedies. Indeed, the pain can be completely eliminated only by removing its cause, and it is impossible to cure the tooth at home.

Why does the tooth hurt?

The most common causes of toothache are tooth decay, pulpitis or periodontitis. The pain syndrome can also be caused by a cyst that has grown in the tissues surrounding the root. In each of these clinical cases it is important to get professional help from a doctor as soon as possible, because pain is not the only unpleasantness, the developing pathology can cause significant damage to the body.

Tooth pain from caries

Carious foci, as a rule, are formed in fissures – natural depressions on the surface of the tooth, as well as in other places where plaque can accumulate. Bacteria in it affect the hard tissue – enamel, dentin, gradually softening it and destroying it. This is how cavities are formed, which gradually enlarge.

  • Superficial caries

At this stage, there is practically no pain. There may be short-term discomfort when the problem tooth is exposed to chemical or thermal stimuli, this is due to the fact that locally destroyed enamel does not protect the tooth.

  • Medium caries

The patient can recognize the presence of holes by food residue stuck in them. The reaction to sour, sweet, cold and hot food is increased, but is still short-lived.

  • Deep caries

Pain is felt from tooth contact with food, water, toothbrush, etc. and lasts for quite a long time. Sometimes it does not subside until you take an anesthetic, even if the irritant is “eliminated”. It doesn’t take long to go from deep decay – when the hard tissues of the tooth are affected – to pulpitis. Caries will destroy the dentin completely and then the pulp will be involved in the pathological process.

Tooth pain due to pulpitis

When caries has “erased” the partition between the nerve fibers and the outside world, patients experience severe pain from any impact on the tooth and even without it. Not eating, drinking water, or practically breathing – even that won’t help! At the initial stage, pulpitis is treated quite simply: it is necessary to clean the carious cavity from pathological tissues and put a filling, renewing the “barrier”. The pulp will be protected, and the tooth returns to its anatomical shape and functionality. If pulpitis is not treated at the initial stage, however, it can develop into one of the more serious forms:

  • Purulent pulpitis

The pain in this case is sharp, unbearable, most strongly manifested at night, can irradiate, not making it clear which tooth hurts.The price of connivance and not addressing the specialist – necrosis of the pulp.

  • Chronic pulpitis

In this manifestation of the disease, the pain may decrease in intensity, and occur periodically. The pulp, involved in the pathological process for a long time, changes its structure and functionality. Changes can be proliferative, fibrotic or gangrenous in nature.

Treatment of pulpitis depends on its form. Get rid of pain and pathological process help therapeutic methods, treatment of channels, after which the integrity of the tooth is restored by filling. In purulent or chronic pulpitis requires vital or devitalextirpation of the pulp of the tooth. Despite the fact that chronic pulpitis may not be accompanied by constant pain, it is dangerous and requires medical intervention, because the pathological process continues to descend, and its next manifestation is periodontitis.

Tooth pain in periodontitis

In periodontitis, the inflammatory process covers the tissues surrounding the root of the tooth – periodontium, up to the alveolar process. Pain in this case may be of different nature – arising during chewing, clearly localized and pulsating, spilling over the jaw, passing into head and facial pain, accompanied by general weakness. Also periodontitis is often accompanied by an increase in cervical lymph nodes, fever, now not only the surrounding people, but also the patient himself notices an unpleasant odor – pus is released from the canals. The general condition, as well as the quality of life – significantly worsens.

What to do if the tooth hurts?

Regardless of what disease provoked the toothache, it is important to solve the problem as soon as possible and professionally – namely, by contacting doctors. Taking painkillers or anti-inflammatory drugs will not get rid of the disease, which means that it will develop and worsen.

The main preventive measures against toothache and dental diseases are good oral hygiene, as well as regular preventive visits to the dentist.

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