Are you experiencing tooth pain? Does your wisdom tooth hurt ? We can help. At our dental clinic in Addis Ababa, we offer fast emergency tooth pain relief treatment for adults as well as children.
Call now to schedule an appointment for your toothache treatment.
What causes tooth pain
Most of the time, tooth problems like dental pain occur when something is wrong with your tooth itself. Dentistry talks about tooth pain caused by dental factors in those cases. The dental causes of toothaches include :
- Tooth decay. Bacterias attack and break down your teeth with acids they produce. When bacterias finish destroying the first and second protective layers of the tooth, which are respectively the enamel and the dentin, they reach a third layer named dental pulp where tooth nerves and blood vessels are located. Thus, any further activity of the bacterias in this area can cause pain from mild and moderate to extreme and severe.
- Periodontal diseases. You can also feel a severe tooth pain when bacterias attacks the tissues surrounding the teeth. By doing so, bacterias cause an inflammation of the gum and sometimes gum bleeding that you can feel, leading to gum disease also called periodontal disease.
- Dental abscesses. You may feel a throbbing tooth pain if a dental abscess forms under one of your teeth or on the gum area surrounding a tooth. This pulsating tooth pain can worsen over time and extend to your jaw, your ear and neck located on the same side as the tooth abscess and can also causes headaches that prevent you to sleep in the night
- Pulpitis. It is when your dental pulp becomes inflamed and causes a dental emergency like toothache at night. Among the causes of pulpitis, we can cite dental caries, dental trauma like fractured, cracked or broken teeth, and multiple dental restorations on an extremely worn tooth.
- Dental hypersensitivity(DH,DHS). It is a sharp and short time dental pain that you can experience when your dentin is exposed to stimuli such as very cold or very hot foods or drinks, when you eat a grain of sand or a small stone when taking food, when you bite something metallic or expose your teeth to some chemical substances. It is a tooth pain which is not associated with any oral or dental disease.
- Food impaction. Simply when food debris like meat, bones or fibers get stuck between your teeth when eating and get pushed more and more to your gums causing tooth pain.
- Dental trauma. Refers to a cracked or fractured tooth that causes unbearable tooth pain in your mouth and sometimes your face by constantly irritating the pulp tissues.
There are also causes of dental pain which are not directly related to the tooth. In this case we talk about non-dental disease or causes. Among the non-dental causes, we can mention migraine that extends to the tooth nerves, sinus infection and more.
Independently of their position, all kinds of teeth can be exposed to tooth problems. Whether it is the front teeth, the molars, upper back teeth, top and bottom teeth.
Wisdom toothache
There are two common wisdom tooth pain scenarios :
Wisdom tooth growing pain
Wisdom teeth, by piercing the gums during growth, can cause pain and a moderate swelling. It is a common phenomena we usually experience when a new tooth grows.
Wisdom tooth infection pain
As for baby teeth or permanent teeth, wisdom teeth can also be infected by decay, root canal infection or other oral cavity bacteria. Thus when it happens you can feel your dental pulp hurting or a gum pain.
To schedule an appointment , call us for a quick and effective tooth pain relief treatment by professional dentists at our dental clinic in Addis Ababa.
Tooth pain relief treatments
Looking for a way to stop tooth pain fast ? Let’s dive into it.
At the dental clinic
Tooth pain treatments vary according to the root cause of the pain but most dental pain can be relieved by routine dentistry. For example, for a food impaction the dentist can simply advise you to brush the concerned area and floos. If that doesn’t work then you may need a removal procedure at the dental clinic.
However, for cases like cavities or periodontal disease, the tooth nerve pain is usually relieved only after a professional dental treatment. These best tooth pain relief treatments include :
- For dental caries, dental trauma and pulpitis. Antibacterial rinse to decrease the number of bacteria in your mouth, dental restoration such as fillings, dental crowns and bridges to restore the decayed tooth, and for severely decayed teeth a tooth extraction and replacement procedure can be needed to stop the pain and restore the dental structure.
- For gum disease(periodontitis). If the disease is not advanced, the dentist may schedule a teeth cleaning treatment to remove dental plaque, perform a root planing to prevent further bacterias accumulation and prescribe you some antibiotics to kill the remaining bacterias. For advanced gum disease, the dental professional may need to perform a surgical pain-free treatment in order to remove the bacterias from the hidden areas.
- Dental abscesses : A dental hygienist will treat your dental abscess by cleaning your mouth and removing all the bacterias responsible for your situation and then drain away the pus in the abscess. This can be done by root canal treatment, tooth extraction surgery when root canal is not possible, or by incision and pus drainage when the abscess can be accessed easily from the outside. The treatment is painless. Your dentist will use local anesthetics in order to prevent additional pain to your teeth.
At home
Here are some home remedies to relieve and sometimes even stop tooth pain at home:
- Rinse your mouth with salt water. Put 1 teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water and use it as mouthwash and spit it out. Salt is a natural infection killer. So a saline mouthwash is an effective first line treatment for emergency toothache relief at home.
- Use a cold compress on the area which hurts. If you’re facing a case of tooth swelling and jaw pain, apply a cold compress on the swollen area and keep it for 15-20minutes. Then remove it and restart the procedure till you feel your pain dissipating.
- Use garlic. Garlic is a natural antibacterial spice. Crush some garlic to make a paste and apply it on the teeth that hurts. Try to keep it for a while. You can reinforce its effect by adding salt in the mixture.
When to see a dentist
Request an emergency dental appointment if:
- You start developing fever
- Your gums become significantly red and swollen
- You have an unusual bad breath
- You have difficulties when eating or drinking
- You have a brocked, cracked or fractured tooth
- You are feeling a long time toothache that extends to two-three days
- Your tooth is preventing you from doing your daily tasks
For emergency tooth pain cases, please call immediately to book an appointment today.
Prevention of dental pain
To prevent dental emergencies as toothache :
- Start with proper oral hygiene. Brush your teeth with a fluoride toothpaste at least twice a day and at best after every meal. Floss daily. Brush your teeth before going to bed and do not eat or drink anything after bedtime brushing to avoid feeding bacterias with food or nutrients stuck in your teeth pits or on the surface of your teeth during your sleep.
- Visit your dentist. Visit one of the top 10 dental clinics in Addis Ababa and consult a dental hygienist to set up a schedule for regular professional teeth scaling and dental plaque removal so that you avoid tooth infections, any plaque related disease and keep a good dental health.
- Make some diet changes. Prefer tooth friendly foods like fresh fruits and green vegetables to refined sugar, sweets, snacks, chips, industrial juices or beverages and fiber foods that can stick inside your teeth pits for a long time. Drink water regularly to keep your saliva wet and wash bacterias away from your mouth.
