Aches and pains are a normal part of life, but when you experience a serious injury, the pain can take over every waking minute (and make it pretty difficult to sleep, while you’re at it). Severe toothaches can have this kind of all-encompassing power. Your mouth and jaw are such a big part of day-to-day life (talking, eating, smiling) that a radiating pain in that area can make you feel useless. Your Richardson dentist, Dr. Diep Truong, will offer you a few scenarios of what might cause a toothache, and what you might want to do in each case.
Toothache What Ifs…
Scenario #1: You have been to the dentist in ages. You brush your teeth…most days. But, you work from home, there are days when you never get out of your pajamas, and before you know it, it’s dinner time and you haven’t even showered, let along brushed your teeth. Lately, you’ve noticed a bit of a dull ache in your mouth, and you’ve kept telling yourself you should make a dentist appointment, but life is so crazy. Then, one morning, you wake up to an intense toothache. What could the cause be? In a case like this, it’s likely that you could have tooth decay that is advancing to a point that the nerves in your teeth are now exposed. You should call your dentist and get in to see them ASAP.
Scenario #2: You’ve been feeling a little under-the-weather – just a general malaise; maybe allergies. You wake up in the middle-of-the-night with an intense pain in your upper molars. You go to the dentist regularly and have a clean bill of dental health, so you can’t imagine that you have a cavity. What could be causing this pain? While you should still call your dentist, this could very well be a sinus infection. Sinuses are inside the jawbone, very close to the upper molars, so sinusitis and toothaches can easily be mistaken for each other. If your dentist can’t figure out the source, your general physician can check your sinuses.
Scenario #3: You had a basketball game last night, and things got a little rough. One particular elbow to your jaw did shake you up a bit, but you kept playing like a champ. Now, though, sitting at home with the adrenaline worn off, your tooth is hurting more and more. What’s going on? It could be a tooth fracture. Seek an appointment with your dentist as soon as you can.
General Dentistry in Richardson
If you have a toothache, or you are in need of a dental checkup, you can contact our Dallas dentist office at (214) 337-7800, or our Richardson dentist office at (972)437-6000. We are proud to serve patients in the 75211 and 75080 zip codes, and surrounding neighborhoods.
