What is dental pain?
Dental pain is one of the most intensely felt pain stimuli felt by humans. Tooth pain can occur due to a variety of reasons. However, generally the mechanism is mediated by the irritation or stimulation of the nerve that can be found at the root of the teeth. A dentist in Buckinghamshire can help to solve problems caused by dental pain.
What can cause dental pain?
Toothache can be caused by a variety of factors. One of the most common reasons for dental pain is tooth decay or caries. Tooth decay occurs because of the naturally occurring bacteria in the oral cavity overgrowing, and thus producing too much acid, which contributes to the degradation of the tooth’s mineral content. When the tooth decay has only affected the surface of the enamel, usually pain cannot be felt. However, when the tooth decay has progressed through the enamel to the dentin, the intense pain can be felt. This is due to the dentin containing little channels which allow the bacteria and the acids to reach the nerve at the root of the teeth. The stimulation and irritation of this nerve by the bacteria and their bi-products results in an intense toothache. Toothache however does not only occur due to tooth decay. Traumatic dental injuries, dental procedures and a whole lot of other reasons can cause toothaches.
Ways to manage tooth decay associated dental pain
Dental pain associated with tooth decay is one of the most common forms of a toothache. The best thing you can do is to prevent the formation of cavities by regularly brushing and flossing your teeth, and also by using a mouthwash that prevents the overgrowth of the bacteria behind tooth decay. Once the dental pain due to tooth decay has occurred, it is crucial to turn to your dentist in Buckinghamshire to receive treatment for it, as a dental filling can isolate the nerve from the source of irritation and therefore help you to stop the pain. While you are waiting for your appointment at your dentist, taking non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, naproxen, paracetamol, or aspirin can help alleviate the pain.
Ways dental pain during an appointment is managed
Dental procedures are sometimes associated with pain and discomfort. Popular culture has further reinforced this, which may cause stress to a patient with odontophobia or dental anxiety. It is important to know that during dental procedures the amount of pain you experienced is kept to the bare minimum. This is achieved through using multiple methods. Your dentist may use local anaesthetic injections around the area of the dental intervention. This suppresses your pain sensing nerves and mechanoreceptors, which suppresses most of the pain, and may also induce some numbness in the area of the injection. Other methods are also available: sedation or anaesthesia is also applied during certain procedures. Anxious patients are advised to go under sedation or anaesthesia, as this can help in both mitigating the pain associated with dental procedures, and the anxiety as well.
