What to do about a toothache
The American Dental Association says to start by rinsing with warm water and gently flossing out any food caught between your teeth. Then call the office during office hours.
What helps right now
For a toothache, the American Dental Association says to rinse your mouth with warm water to clean it out, and to gently use dental floss to remove any food caught between your teeth. It says to put cold compresses on your face to keep any swelling down, and not to put aspirin on the aching tooth or the gum.
An over-the-counter pain reliever, taken as the label says, can take the edge off until the tooth is examined. These steps ease the pain while the cause waits for an exam.
What the pain can mean
The ADA says toothaches usually indicate a cavity, but they can also signal gum disease, and in some cases a toothache is a sign of an abscess or an impacted tooth. The American Association of Endodontists says the source of tooth pain may be dental decay, a cracked tooth, or an infection. If the pain began after a chip or a crack, read how to deal with a chipped tooth.
Sensitivity to hot or cold
The AAE says this generally does not signal a serious problem, unless the sensitivity remains for an extended period.
Pain that lingers
The AAE says it is likely that the pulp has been irreversibly damaged by deep decay or physical trauma.
Pain when you bite
The AAE says it may be caused by decay, a loose filling or a crack in the tooth.
Constant pain with swelling
The AAE says a tooth may be abscessed, causing an infection in the surrounding tissue and bone.
A dull ache in the upper teeth or jaw
The AAE says grinding of teeth, known as bruxism, can cause this type of ache, and that the pain of a sinus headache may also be felt in the face and teeth.
When to go to an emergency room
The ADA says pain or swelling in your mouth, face or neck can mean a number of things. Go to an emergency room if your face or neck swells, you have a fever, or you have trouble breathing or swallowing. The ADA lists pain, swelling, redness in the gums, a bad taste in the mouth and fever among the symptoms of an abscess, and says difficulty chewing or swallowing is not the norm.
After those first steps, the ADA says to visit your dentist or an emergency room as soon as possible.
What the office does about a toothache
An exam and x-rays find the cause, and the cause decides the fix, since decay, a cracked tooth and an infection are not treated alike. Depending on what they show, the treatment is a filling, a crown, a root canal, gum treatment or an extraction, and all of these are done here in Winchester, TN. A filling repairs a cavity. A crown covers a tooth too damaged for a filling. A root canal treats the pulp inside a tooth. Gum treatment includes LANAP, a laser treatment performed with a Millennium Nd:YAG laser. An extraction removes a tooth that cannot be kept.
If the chair is what you dread, sedation is available, from nitrous oxide to oral to IV, for patients 13 and over, and Dr. Orr gives IV sedation himself.
Patients we see from around Winchester
Patients come to the office from Winchester, Decherd and the rest of Franklin County, and from Tullahoma and Manchester. Call during office hours and say which tooth hurts, what sets the pain off, and whether there is swelling or fever. The staff will tell you when to come in.
Next step
A toothache has a cause, and an exam and x-rays find it. Call the office, and we will go through what you are feeling.