Causes and Ways To Treat Toothache

Toothache is a condition when the inside or around the teeth and jaw feel sore or painful. The severity of the pain can vary, ranging from mild to severe. Toothache can also come and go or go on and on.

Toothaches typically indicate a condition affecting the gums or teeth. However, in certain cases, toothache can also be a sign of a disease in another part of the body whose pain spreads to the area around the tooth, such as jaw joint disorders, earache, sinus, or heart disease.

Although it is generally not life-threatening, it is best to check with a dentist so that the toothache can be treated immediately. This is because a toothache can be caused by a dangerous disease, such as tooth decay or a heart attack.

Causes of Toothache

Toothache usually appears as a symptom of a disease, whether it is a disease originating from the oral cavity or other parts of the body. Dental problems that result in toothaches can be brought on by:

• Cavities or broken tooth fillings
• Inflamed or infected teeth or gums
• Cracked or broken teeth
• Tooth decay
• Loose or chipped teeth
• Sensitive teeth
• Teething process
• Wisdom teeth that grow abnormally ( tooth impaction )
• Pus in the tooth
• Swollen gums
• Problems with braces
• Habit of teeth grinding ( bruxism )

While toothache due to pain that spreads from other parts of the body can occur as a result of:

• Migraine
• Sinusitis
• Heart disease
• Lung disease
• Facial nerve disorders ( trigeminal neuralgia )

In addition to the causes above, the factors below can also increase a person's risk of experiencing toothache:

• Smoking
• Suffering from diabetes
• Suffering from AIDS
• Taking certain drugs, such as immunosuppressive drugs

Toothache Symptoms

The severity of toothache is very diverse, ranging from mild pain that only causes discomfort, to severe pain that is unbearable. Pain from a toothache can also feel sharp, throbbing, or stabbing.

In addition to pain, some other symptoms that can arise due to toothache are:

• Swelling in the gums around the aching tooth
• Swelling of the jaw and face
• Bad breath ( halitosis )
• Bleeding from the teeth or gums
• Difficulty and pain when opening the mouth

Toothache pain generally worsens at night, especially when the sufferer is lying down. Pain can also worsen when the sufferer eats and drinks, especially if they consume food or drinks that are hot, cold, too sweet, or too acidic.

When should you go to the doctor?

See a doctor immediately if the toothache has lasted for more than 2 days, or if the pain does not improve even after self-treatment. In addition, an examination by a doctor is required if the toothache is accompanied by:

• Fever and headache
• Pain when chewing
• Difficulty swallowing
• Shortness of breath
• Ear pain

Toothache Diagnosis

In patients who complain of toothache, the doctor will first search for the symptoms felt by the patient, namely by asking:

• Place the pain
• Pain severity
• When does the pain usually appear
• Things that cause the pain to worsen
• Things that can ease the pain

After that, the doctor will examine the patient's mouth, teeth, gums, jaw, tongue, throat, sinuses, ears, nose, and neck.

The doctor will also check the stimulation of the teeth, for example by displaying a cold temperature on the teeth, tapping the teeth with a tool, asking the patient to bite or chew something, as well as pressing the patient's teeth with a finger.

If the patient is suspected of suffering from a disease or other condition that can cause toothache, the doctor will carry out additional examinations, in the form of:

• Dental X-rays , to check for abscesses and holes in the teeth
• CT scan or MRI, to examine the teeth, gums, jawbone, and surrounding tissue in more detail

If the examination does not find abnormalities in the teeth, it is possible that the toothache is caused by disorders in other parts of the body. Therefore, the dentist will refer the patient to a doctor related to the disease or condition.

Toothache Treatment

If you experience a toothache, it is best to see a dentist immediately to find out the cause so that it can be treated correctly. However, if the toothache experienced is still mild, there are several self-treatment steps that can be done at home to alleviate it, namely:

• Clean between the teeth with dental floss ( dental floss ), to get rid of plaque and stuck food
• Gargle with a mixture of warm water and salt, to help clean dirt in the mouth and to reduce inflammation of the gums
• Gargle with an antiseptic mouthwash, to reduce bacteria in the mouth and treat gingivitis
• Compress the cheek with a cold compress, when the toothache is caused by an injury
• Consuming herbal toothache medicines and analgesic-antipyretics such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, to relieve pain

If self-treatment cannot relieve the toothache, the doctor can do some of the following actions:

• Fixing a tooth if the toothache is caused by a cavity, by first cleaning it
• Re-filling if the toothache is caused by damage to the previous filling
• Perform root canal treatment if the root of the tooth is infected
• Perform tooth extraction if the above methods of treatment are unsuccessful or if the toothache is caused by a problem with the growth of wisdom teeth
• Prescribe antibiotics, such as amoxicillin if the toothache is caused by a bacterial infection

Complications of Toothache

Toothache is generally not dangerous. However, the infection that occurs in the teeth risks spreading to other parts of the body. If the infection spreads, complications that can occur include:

• Tooth abscess
• Dehydration due to difficulty eating and drinking due to pain
• Loose teeth
• Sepsis

Toothache Prevention

Prevention is always better than cure. Therefore, to prevent toothache, start doing the following steps:

• Brush your teeth the right way twice a day, using toothpaste that contains fluoride
• Clean between the teeth with dental floss ( dental floss ) and mouthwash when needed
• Limit the consumption of foods that are too hard, too sweet, and too acidic
• Keeping blood sugar levels normal, when suffering from diabetes
• Check your teeth at the dentist at least once every 6 months
• Stop smoking