Having a toothache isn't something anyone wants to go through. In addition to simply hurting, it can also induce stress at the thought of what might be wrong with your tooth. If you've noticed that you've gone from having significant pain to none at all, you might think you're out of the woods. However, what's actually going on here might surprise you. Here's what you should know about your disappearing tooth pain.
How Teeth Hurt
To understand why your tooth stopped hurting, it's important to explain how a tooth feels sensation at all.
While a tooth looks like it's a solid brick of bone from the outside, it isn't. There are softer tissues on the inside of the tooth, named the pulp and the dentin. The pulp is where the nerves in your teeth can be found. Just like the nerves under your skin, muscles, and in your other bones, these process things like touch, cold, and heat, and send a signal to your brain. Normally, this is just something you feel, but if there's something wrong with the tooth, you may get a more significant sensation, otherwise known as pain.
Why the Pain Stopped
Unfortunately, the majority of dental problems don't clear up on their own, especially if you're already at the stage of having extreme pain. So why, then, would your pain suddenly disappear?
The answer is that the damage to your tooth has likely become severe. In the early to moderate stages, the nerves send pain signals to the brain. However, if the interior of the tooth is damaged enough, the nerves themselves can be damaged or broken down by invading bacteria or ongoing dental decay.
When this happens, the brain stops receiving signals from the tooth. There simply aren't enough remaining (or any) nerves to send signals anymore. If you can bite down on the tooth and not feel the pressure you're accustomed to, this is likely what's happened to you.
What to Do
This kind of disappearing pain is actually a bad sign and one that indicates that you need to get help from a dentist right away. If you were thinking of putting off going to the dentist, you absolutely shouldn't. If the decay of your tooth continues, you may end up losing the entire tooth. The earlier you get help, the more likely you are to be able to get a simple repair, like a filling or root canal. However, if enough time passes and the tooth is severely damaged, it's possible that only an extraction will be an option.
Share9 February 2022
After dealing with a few root canals, I realized that it was time to take my dental hygiene a more seriously. I talked with my dentist about what I could do differently, and he was full of great suggestions that would help. He walked me through different ways to brush, floss, and take care of tartar buildup, and it was really amazing to see the difference that it made. I also started taking a fluoride supplement to strengthen my enamel. When I made it to my next appointment, my dentist was blown away with the improvement. This blog is all about improving your dental appointments by keeping your teeth healthier.
