What Are the Most Common Early Signs of Nerve Damage in Teeth?
Did you know that the human body has over seven trillion nerves? Nerves are responsible for sending pain signals to the brain. And each tooth has a bundle of blood vessels along with a nerve, all of which dentists refer to as the dental pulp. When you damage a tooth in some way, the nerve inside the tooth will likely suffer, too. When this happens, your tooth will feel different.
Nerve damage in teeth is important because once damaged, the nerve will die. When a nerve dies, it begins to rot inside the tooth. And soon after, bacteria could soon take advantage of the decaying dental nerve. This will lead to a dental infection.
Here are some of the most common early signs of nerve damage inside a tooth.
A dull ache
If you damage a nerve because of trauma or untreated tooth decay, one of the earliest signs will be a dull ache that emanates from the affected tooth.
Pain when biting down
Another early sign of nerve damage is pain when you bite down while chewing food during meals. This pain will usually be sharp short bursts that occur when you use the affected tooth to chew.
Sensitivity when exposed to hot, cold or acidic food or drink
If your tooth is damaged in some way, or the enamel has thinned, hot, cold and acidic foods will affect the nerve in the tooth. And the more you expose the nerve to these foods and drinks, the more likely that the nerve will die.
Tender gum around the affected tooth
When the nerve inside a tooth is irritated in some way, the gum tissue surrounding that tooth will feel tender to the touch.
Swollen and red gum around the affected tooth
If your gum is tender to the touch and you can see visible swelling and redness around the tooth, this is a sign that infection has taken hold. At this point, bacteria have possibly invaded the tooth. At this point, you need to see your dentist as soon as possible before the infection spreads.
You may need a root canal
Once a tooth nerve suffers trauma, the likelihood that it will die is high. And once a tooth nerve dies, bacteria invade the tooth and feast on the dying nerve. Soon after, pus forms inside the affected tooth and then leaks out into the surrounding tissues to become an abscess that looks like a pimple on the gum tissue below the affected tooth.
Only root canal treatment can remove the infection along with the dead pulp. And the longer you wait, the worse the infection will become. This is why you need to see your dentist as soon as possible if you suspect that you have nerve damage inside a tooth.
For more information, contact a dentist near you.
Share
