Some people experience intermittent but sharp pain in a tooth even when there appears to be nothing wrong with any tooth in the area. The pain might be associated with biting into a piece of food, or even with releasing the pressure after having bitten into the food. Or it might be associated with temperature changes. Annoyingly, this might happen either all the time – or only some of the time.
If you experience this sort of pain, do come to us at your Epping Dentist to find out about it. It’s possible you have a cracked [i.e. fractured] tooth, the crack being so fine it can’t be seen by eye. Even so, such cracks still cause pain because the movement allowed by the crack irritates the soft tissue underneath the tooth’s hard outer surface, the pulp, where the tooth’s nerves and blood vessels are.
It’s well worth investigating this sort of pain – apart from dealing with the pain itself – as complications can develop if the crack is not dealt with. If it gets larger, a piece of tooth might break off. Alternately, the gum below the crack might develop an infection which can threaten the entire tooth and its neighbours. It’s possible for an abscess to develop too.
Once the crack has been located and its severity has been discovered, your friendly Epping Dentist will recommend appropriate treatment for you.
To avoid cracking your teeth in the first place, take care not to bite down on hard things like ice or popcorn that didn’t pop, or even a biro top. Importantly, teach your children these things too!
If you or your children play a contact sport, a mouthguard should be worn during the game.
If you catch yourself clenching or grinding your teeth, learn how to relax your jaw – and if necessary, get fitted with a mouthguard for keeping your teeth safe while you are sleeping. Your Epping Dentist will be able to help you with all of these things. Be on the watch for this in your children too – rather, every now and then, listen for it while they are sleeping.
Tooth cracks might be invisible, but the pain from them is definitely not, so follow up on that pain with us to eliminate it and stop any further complications in their tracks.
