Abscessed tooth pain may begin as a slight sensitivity to hot, cold and biting or as a constantly throbbing toothache. Mild to severe swelling may accompany and contribute to the pain. Immediate attention to the problem may mean the difference between saving or losing the tooth. Several possible causes exist for a toothache to begin.
Multiple Restorations
Abscessed tooth pain can begin a short time after the placement of a dental filling or crown, according to the American Association of Endodontists. Each time a tooth receives dental treatment, it causes inflammation of the dental pulp inside the tooth. Eventually, this accumulating inflammation has the capacity to destroy the vitality of the pulp and create an infection in the bone surrounding a tooth. The infected bone can swell and is very painful. This process can take days or many years after the filling or crown placement.
Cracked Tooth
Cracks can cause a toothache in two ways. The tooth can ache because biting pressure forces the crack to open, according to the American Dental Association. Or if a crack is present for a long time, it provides a pathway for bacteria from the oral cavity to enter the crack and initiate an inflammatory response in the dental pulp. Not treating a crack early allows this inflammation to result in an infected pulp and ensuing abscess. A fracture that involves the root of a tooth is not only painful, but renders the tooth untreatable.
Deep Decay
Bacteria and their metabolic byproducts fill deep decay as it encroaches upon the dental pulp. These destroy this blood and nerve-filled tissue and create pus on the inside of the tooth and in the surrounding bone, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Pus continues to form and expand around the tooth. This puts pressure on nerve endings located in the bone, ligament and gum tissue around a tooth. Treating this type of toothache includes removing the deep decay and the infected pulp with a root canal treatment. Antibiotics and analgesics are necessary in some cases to resolve pain and swelling.
Traumatic Injury
A toothache can begin shortly after a tooth is hit or many years later. The dental pulp may be able to withstand a mild blow without becoming infected. However, a more severe blow can irreversibly compromise its ability to survive, according to the University of Iowa College Of Dentistry. Once the blood vessels and nerve tissue lose their vitality, an infection develops. Lightly touching a tooth in this condition provokes a rapid and painful response. Discoloration may accompany pain after trauma to a tooth.
Failed Endodontics
Endodontic, or root canal therapy, is successful in treating most abscessed teeth. A small percentage do not respond favorably and get re-infected, according to the American Association of Endodontists. Several possible reasons for a failed root canal exist. Inadequate root canal filling, a missed canal or a fractured root can cause an abscess to develop in a previously treated tooth. This type of toothache may require antibiotics to control the pain until saving the tooth with another root canal or extracting the tooth.
Prevention/Solution
Seek immediate professional dental care to minimize the consequences from abscessed tooth pain. It is easier and often less costly to treat most oral symptoms earlier rather than later.
