Toothache
What is tooth decay?
Tooth decay is damage to a tooth's surface, or enamel. It happens when bacteria in your mouth make acids that attack the enamel. Tooth decay can lead to cavities (dental caries), which are holes in your teeth. If tooth decay is not treated, it can cause pain, infection, and even tooth loss.
What causes tooth decay?Our mouths are full of bacteria. Some bacteria are helpful. But some can be harmful, including the ones that play a role in tooth decay. These bacteria combine with food to form a soft, sticky film called plaque. The bacteria in plaque use the sugar and starch in what you eat and drink to make acids. The acids begin to eat away at the minerals on your enamel. Over time, the plaque can harden into tartar. Besides damaging your teeth, plaque and tartar can also irritate your gums and cause gum disease.
You get fluoride from toothpaste, water, and other sources. This fluoride, along with your salvia, helps the enamel repair itself by replacing the minerals. Your teeth go through this natural process of losing minerals and regaining minerals all day long. But if you don't take care of your teeth and/or you eat and drink lots of sugary or starchy things, your enamel will keep losing minerals. This leads to tooth decay.
A white spot may appear where minerals have been lost. This is an early sign of tooth decay. You may be able to stop or reverse the decay at this point. Your enamel can still repair itself, if you take better care of your teeth and limit sugary/starchy foods and drinks.
But if the tooth decay process continues, more minerals are lost. Over time, the enamel is weakened and destroyed, forming a cavity. A cavity is a hole in your tooth. It is permanent damage that a dentist has to repair with a filling.
Who is at risk for tooth decay?The main risk factors for tooth decay are not taking care of your teeth and having too many sugary or starchy foods and drinks.
Some people have a higher risk of tooth decay, including people who:
- Don't have enough saliva, because of medicines, certain diseases, or some cancer treatments
- Don't get enough fluoride
- Are very young. Babies and toddlers who drink from bottles are at risk, especially if they are given juice or get bottles at bedtime. This exposes their teeth to sugars for long periods of time.
- Are older. Many older adults have receding gums and more wear on their teeth. These raise the risk of decay on the exposed root surfaces of their teeth.
In early tooth decay, you usually don't have symptoms. As tooth decay gets worse, it can cause:
- A toothache (tooth pain)
- Tooth sensitivity to sweets, hot, or cold
- White or brown stains on the surface of a tooth
- A cavity
- An infection, which can lead to an abscess (pocket of pus) forming. The abscess can cause pain, facial swelling, and fever.
Dentists usually find tooth decay and cavities by looking at your teeth and probing them with dental instruments. Your dentist will also ask if you have any symptoms. Sometimes you may need a dental x-ray.
What are the treatments for tooth decay and cavities?There are several treatments for tooth decay and cavities. Which treatment you get depends on how bad the problem is:
- Fluoride treatments. If you have early tooth decay, a fluoride treatment can help the enamel to repair itself.
- Fillings. If you have a typical cavity, your dentist will remove the decayed tooth tissue and then restore the tooth by filling it with a filling material.
- Root canal. If the damage to the tooth and/or an infection spreads to the pulp (inside of the tooth), you might need a root canal. Your dentist will remove the decayed pulp and clean inside the tooth and root. The next step is to fill the tooth with a temporary filling. Then you will need to come back to get a permanent filling or a crown (a cover on the tooth).
- Extraction (pulling the tooth). In the most severe cases, when the damage to the pulp cannot be fixed, your dentist may pull the tooth. Your dentist will suggest that you get a bridge or implant to replace the missing tooth. Otherwise, the teeth next to the gap may move over and change your bite.
There are steps that you can take to prevent tooth decay:
- Make sure that you get enough fluoride by
- Brushing with a fluoride toothpaste
- Drinking tap water with fluoride. Most bottled water does not contain fluoride.
- Using fluoride mouth rinse
- Practice good oral health by brushing your teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and regularly flossing your teeth
- Make smart food choices by limiting foods and drinks that are high in sugars and starches. Eat nutritious, balanced meals and limit snacking.
- Do not use tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco. If you currently use tobacco, consider quitting.
- See a dentist for regular check-ups and professional cleanings
- Make sure that your children get sealants on their teeth. Dental sealants are thin plastic coatings that protect the chewing surfaces of the back teeth. Children should get sealants on their back teeth as soon as they come in, before decay can attack the teeth.
NIH: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Felter's Materia Medica on Toothache
A stearopten (having the nature of a ketone) derived from Cinnamomum Camphora. (Linné), Nees et Ebermeier (Nat. Ord. Lauraceae). China and... / ...it, the liniment, or camphorated oil are favorite applications for tenderness and pain, chilblains, toothache, and acute mastitis: in the latter it tends to suppress the milk. The spirit is in common ... / ...due to gaseous distention of the stomach, or to nervous irritability. In occipital headache, from mental strain, or overstudy, small doses of 1
The leaves of Gaultheria procumbens, Linné (Nat. Ord. Ericaceae). Damp woods and sandy soils of eastern third of the United States. Common... / ... Therapy.External. Oil of wintergreen in full strength may be applied to carious teeth to relieve toothache. In full strength, or in suitable dilution with olive oil or cottonseed oil, it provides a... / ...of infants. Gaultheria is an agent of special value as a flavoring agent and preservative for water-dispensed medicines in the summer season. Fo1
The leaves and tops of Mentha piperita, Smith (Mentha X piperita L.) (Nat. Ord. Labiatae). Europe and the United States. Dose, 60 to 120... / ...ent and anodyne. It is used alone or in combination with other oils for the relief of neuralgia and toothache, in both of which it is often very efficient. Its external use has been somewhat supersede... / ...of peppermint and alcohol, equal parts, frequently eases the pain of tonsillitis and gives relief in the cough of acute bronchitis and pneumonia.1
Oil of Cajuput, Oil of Cajeput. A volatile oil distilled from the leaves and twigs of several varieties of Melaleuca Leucadendron, Linné (and... / ...tions, and in nervous headache. The oil applied to the cavity of a carious tooth sometimes relieves toothache. Internal. Oil of cajuput may be used for the same purposes as the other aromatic oils, ch... / ...being used by Eclectic practitioners oftener than any other medicine, except in severe cases when the conjoint use of morphine is necessary.1
The root of Piper methysticum, Forster (Nat. Ord. Piperaceae). South Sea Islands. Dose, 5 to 60 grains. Common Names: Kava-Kava, Ava, Ava-Pepper... / ...ain, especially of the branches of the 5th nerve. It sometimes relieves ocular and aural neuralgia, toothache when not due to dental caries, neuralgia of the stomach and intestines, and neuralgic and ... / ...exhibition of Piper methysticum.1
The bark of the root of Piscidia piscipula, Jacquin (Nat. Ord. Leguminosae). West Indies and rarely in Florida. Dose, 5 to 60 grains. Common Name:... / ... is caused by either heart failure or respiratory paralysis. Therapy.External. Reputed to relieve toothache due to exposed dental pulp, alveolar abscess, or peridental inflammation, and has been adv... / ...the feeble it should be employed with caution on account of its tendency to produce convulsions, even though it may satisfactorily relieve pain.1
The whole plant of Plantago major, Linné (Nat. Ord. Plantaginaceae). A very common weed everywhere, especially in lawns and along roadsides,... / ...resh plant can be obtained. The alcoholic preparations have been advised as topical applications in toothache, when due to a sensitive pulp, and in earache. Internal. Plantago is reputed useful in bed...1
...in from exposure to winds; epiphora; styes; deep-seated heavy pain in the globe of the eye; jumping toothache from abscess near the dental pulp; stomach disorders from indulgence in pastries and fats;......male. Therapy.External. The value of pulsatilla has been emphasized in jerking or jumping toothache, usually due to the formation of a pus cavity near the nerve. Full strength specific medic...1
The bark and berries of (1) Xanthoxylum americanum, Miller, and (2) Xanthoxylum Clava-Herculis, Lamarck (Nat. Ord. Rutaceae). Shrubs of North... / ...thout value in lumbago and myalgia. Chewing prickly ash bark is a domestic custom for the relief of toothache. Xanthoxlum should also be remembered where nerve force is low and in the recuperative sta...1
Physician's Materia Medica on Toothache
The flower buds of EUGENIA AROMATICA, (L.) 0. Kze. Carmina tive, stomachic; locally applied, counter-irritant. analgesic. The active constituent is the oflicial volatile oil, much used for relief of toothache.2
Antiseptic, germicide, analgesic. Used to relieve nausea, in treatment of tuberculosis and locally as a remedy for toothache. Dose, 0.03 to 0.30 c. c. (1/2 to 5 M), or more.2
The bark of PISCIDIA PISCIPULA, ( L.) Sarg. Anodyne, hypnotic, diaphoretic, sialagogue, arterial sedative. Prescribed for relief of neuralgic pain, especially ovarian, and for its hypnotic effect. Applied locally as a remedy for toothache.2
The root of ANACYCLUS PYRETHRUM, (L.) DC. Rubefacient, counter-irritant, sialagogue. Used chiefly for relief of toothache.2
The leaves of PLANTAGO MAJOR, Lin. Alterative, diuretic, anti septic, hemostatic. Used in scrofula and syphilis, in menorrhagia, hematuria, dysentery and other fluxes, in eneuresis and as a remedy for toothache.2
The root of PIMPINELLA SAXIFRAGA. Lin. Aromatic, diaphoretic, diuretic, stomachic, emmenagogue Used in amenorrhea, dropsy, as a masticatory for toothache. etc.2
Physician's Therapeutics Memoranda on Toothache
For relief of pain a mixture (liquid) of camphor, 5 parts, chloral, 5 parts and cocaine hydrochloride, 1 part; Phenol Camphor; oil cloves; creosote; menthol.2
References
2) Nelson, Baker & Co., 1904, Physician's Handy Book of Materia Medica and Therapeustics, Detroit, Michigan.