What is a "toothache"?

What is a "toothache"?

Ronald Rosenblatt, DDS (General and Cosmetic Dentistry) gives expert video advice on: What dental tests will determine the cause of a toothache? and more...

A toothache, very simply, is a pain in the tooth. The are several causes of toothache. The most common reason that you have a toothache is because there is a large amount of tooth decay in your tooth. When that happens, the decay needs to be removed and the tooth needs to be repaired. The toothache can also come about because the tooth has been fractured, exposing the interior of the tooth to the outside environment, particularly cold. The strongest stimulus you can put in your mouth is cold; it's stronger than heat. If you break your tooth and expose the inside of your tooth, it's going to hurt; you're going to have a toothache. You can also have a toothache because your gums are bad. If you have a real problem in the gums, you can have a toothache. You can also get a toothache if your bite is off, so that you are grinding your teeth or you are hitting too hard on one tooth; that would cause a toothache also.