Some general health discomforts, like muscle tension and Athlete’s Foot, go away in their own time. Because of this, you might take the next logical step and think that if your toothache has disappeared, so has the problem.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the norm for dental issues! Keep reading to understand why you should seriously consider calling your emergency dentist.
Toothache Causes that Don’t Solve Themselves
It’s true that a toothache could indicate a number of underlying problems. Here are a few examples:
- Your tooth is damaged with cracks, chips, or fractures
- Your restoration doesn’t fit or has broken
- You grind or clench your teeth
- Gum disease has infected your tooth
- Your tooth is experiencing decay
There aren’t any over-the-counter medications that can fix a broken tooth, and antibodies can’t cure dental infections. For all of these listed conditions, the only real way to recover is to go to your emergency dentist for treatment.
What a Disappearing Toothache Can Actually Mean
If you had a pervasive toothache that suddenly vanished into thin air, the truth is that your underlying dental condition has probably gotten worse.
Teeth have many different layers. Past your enamel and dentin is a soft, squishy center called pulp. Inside the pulp is a small cluster of dental nerves. When you develop a pinpoint toothache, it typically means that something – ie. decay, infection, or damage – is literally getting on your nerves. Since these conditions don’t go away on their own, if you wait too long, they can spread, destroying your dental nerves.
Thus, you feel no pain, because your tooth no longer has working nerves. The worst of it is that the damage doesn’t stop there. It will keep on growing, eventually reaching your jawbone and leading to tooth loss.
How to Avoid Serious Dental Trouble
You’ll have to see your emergency dentist as soon as possible. Depending on what caused your toothache in the first place, they might suggest one treatment or another. But the most common solution in these instances is a root canal.
During a root canal, your emergency dentist goes to your pulp and cleans out any bacteria, decay, or infection. Incidentally, this is also why you’ll want to consider root canal treatment if your dental nerves have died due to injury. Unless they’re removed, there’s a good chance your nerves will rot and cause infection. When that happens, you might not even know about it until an adjacent tooth starts to ache!
It’s vital to check in with your emergency dentist if you have or had a toothache – especially if you’ve had root canal treatment in the past. Even in the event the cause of your discomfort was mundane, you can return home with peace of mind. It’s always better to be safe than sorry!
About the Author
Dr. Rebecca Long is an accomplished dentist who actively pursues excellence through continuing education. She’ll bring the full brunt of her skills and knowledge to bear down on your personalized care. If you need help with a toothache or are concerned about its disappearance, give her office a call at 512-328-0155. With her meticulous and gentle touch, Dr. Long will reassure you through your dental emergency and make sure your treatment is top-notch! For more information, explore her website.