root canal

Constant tooth pain is irritating, and can be downright debilitating if it hurts enough. If you experience regular bottom teeth pain, the first thing you should do is visit your dentist so that whatever is wrong doesn’t get worse. But it doesn’t hurt to learn what might be causing your bottom teeth to hurt in the meantime. Here are 5 reasons why your bottom teeth may hurt.

You’ve Got A Cavity

Cavity Tooth Pain Symptoms: Typically, pain caused by cavities can be felt sharply, consistently and suddenly in one or more teeth when you bite down. Cavities can also cause sensitivity.
If you haven’t been getting rid of all of the plaque on and around your bottom teeth by brushing, flossing and using mouthwash, you may have cavity. Cavities can also be caused by gum recession. Cavities are holes in your teeth created by acids, which love eating away at your enamel. Thankfully, fixing a cavity is quick and easy. All your dentist has to do is fill it in with dental filling material.

Your Root Might Be Infected

Infected Root Tooth Pain Symptoms: If you experience a severe and constant bottom toothache that causes throbbing or shooting pain, you may have an abscessed tooth, or root infection. Your teeth may also feel sensitive to extreme temperatures and when biting down, and your gums and glands may be swollen.
Severe tooth decay is usually the reason why an infection develops at the root of your tooth. When acids have been allowed to dissolve your enamel for a while, bacteria infects the center of your tooth (the pulp) between your gum and your tooth. If you don’t see a dentist to cure your infection, it can spread to the bones that support your bottom teeth. A root canal can be performed to rid your teeth of the infection.

You’re Clenching and/or Grinding Your Teeth

Clenching/Grinding Tooth Pain Symptoms: If you bottom teeth pain is less severe, and more of a constant throbbing or achy pain, you may grind or clench your teeth too much.
Many people clench their teeth when they are concentrating or working out at the gym. You may also grind your teeth while you’re sound asleep. When you grind or clench your teeth often, you wear down your enamel, which exposes the tubes that lead to your nerves. This can lead to sensitivity and tooth pain. If you think you clench or grind your teeth, speak to your dentist about wearing a mouth guard.

You Fractured Your Tooth

Fractured Tooth Pain Symptoms: If you experience irregular pain in a bottom tooth when you’re chewing or when your tooth is exposed to extreme temperatures, you may have a fractured tooth.
The center of your tooth contains soft tissue, called the pulp, where your nerves are located. Your enamel and dentin, which is the hard layer underneath your enamel, protect your nerves. The closer your pulp is to being exposed, the more you irritate your nerves, which can cause pain and sensitivity. There are several different dental procedures that treat cracked teeth, depending on the severity, from crowns to root canals.

You Have Other Serious Health Issues

Bottom teeth pain isn’t always a sign that you have dental issues. Teeth pain can also be caused by a variety of other serious health issues that you might not even think of. These include heart attacks, sinus infections, cluster headaches, viral infections, diabetes, nerve-related disease, alcohol or drug abuse, and more.
The only way to truly find out what is causing your bottom teeth to hurt is to speak to your dentist. They’ll be able to get to the root of your teeth pain and provide you with solutions to make you pain-free again.

Repairing a chipped tooth is usually not as hard as one would imagine. Through several different processes, depending on the severity of the chipped tooth, a dentist can make your smile look good as new.
It all starts with the chip. While enamel is the strongest mineralized tissue of the body, it can still be broken. You could be eating a hard candy or chewing ice, you could fall or take a blow to the face; whatever it is, it can damage your tooth and require immediate attention.

What To Do If You Chip Your Tooth

Before anything else, you should know what to do right after you chip your tooth:

• First, make an appointment to see your dentist as soon as possible. Chips and fractures can become a lot worse, either by fracturing more or developing an infection, if left unattended.
• If the tooth causes you pain, use an over the counter pain reliever and rinse your mouth with salt water.
• If the tooth has a sharp edge resulting from the fracture, use gum or a paraffin wax to cover the tooth and protect your gums.
• Avoid hard foods, and if you must eat before your dentist appointment, choose soft foods: smoothies, mashed potatoes, and the like, to avoid biting down on your gums.

Treatment for a Broken Tooth

There are several types of treatment for a chipped tooth, depending on the severity of the fracture. If it’s a small crack or chip, it usually takes one visit to the dentist to solve, while more severe fractures can take several visits.
For small cracks and chips, a procedure called “bonding” is performed. Bonding does not require numbing the tooth. To bond a tooth, the dentist will add a liquid or gel to prepare the tooth for the bonding material. Next, the dentist applies an adhesive and attaches the bonding material. The material is shaped to look like a natural tooth, then dried by applying an ultraviolet light to harden the material.
For larger fractures, a crown can be placed over the teeth. This requires filing down enough of the tooth to then place a cap over it and cement it down. This protects the exposed underside of the tooth while allowing you the ability to chew and smile normally. Crowns involve taking an X-ray and impressions of your teeth for a crown to be made. On a second visit, with a permanent crown made, your dentist will use a composite cement to permanently place the crown over your tooth.
If the fracture of the tooth is so large that it exposes the root or pulp of the tooth (the center which contains nerves and blood vessels), a root canal is needed. This treatment involves removing the remaining pieces of tooth along with the dead pulp. The dentist then cleans out the empty root canal and seals it to avoid infection.
There are many options for chipped, broken, and fractured teeth, but only a medical professional can determine the right solution for you. If you are experiencing pain from a chipped tooth, contact Water Tower Dental, Chicago’s #1 rated dentist office set the path for a better, brighter smile.

Whether you took a bite into something too hard for your tooth, or took a nasty spill, the potential to crack, fracture or chip your tooth is possible. Thankfully, there are several ways to fix a chipped tooth depending on the severity of the accident.
Chipped teeth come in all shapes and sizes. While the enamel on your tooth is one of the strongest tissues of the body, it still can be broken especially if a tooth already has a good amount of decay. While it's less likely for a tooth to chip from eating, harmful snacks like ice, chewy and hard candy, and popcorn can cause a break. However, it's much more likely you'd receive a chipped or fractured tooth from falling over, playing a sport without a mouth guard, or involving yourself in a rowdy bar fight- all of which we advise you to avoid.

If you do experience a chipped tooth, we recommend you call your dentist right away and get your tooth fixed as quickly as you can. Often a chipped tooth can escalate to further damage, infection, and serious injury.
After an appointment has been set, we recommend covering your chipped tooth with wax paraffin or sugar-free gum to keep the jagged ends from cutting your gums, lips, or cheeks. If the tooth is painful, take an over the counter pain reliever to help minimize the discomfort. A cold press can also help the area from swelling.

Treating Your Chipped Tooth

Fixing a chipped tooth is often a very simple procedure. There are several ways to treat a chipped tooth depending on the severity of the break. While a simple crack or chip can be fixed during an office visit, other cases may need several doctors visit to make sure the tooth is safe from infection and further damage.

Resin Bonding

If only a small chip or break is present on the tooth, resin bonding can be used to repair it. Bonding uses a tooth-colored composite resin that fills the gap in the tooth.
This procedure is rather simple, using a flexible cement-like material; the dentist applies an adhesive material to the tooth then adds the bonding filler. The doctor then shapes the bonding to resemble the missing shape of the tooth. When just right, an ultraviolet light is used to adhere the bonding to the tooth and harden it enough to withstand the daily activities of a tooth.

Cap or Crown

For a more severe fracture, the dentist can choose to use a cap or crown to cover a tooth completely. First, the dentist will grind away a portion of the tooth. Next, they fit a tooth-shaped cap and adhere it to the remaining piece of tooth. If there is minimal tooth left, the dentist may place a post into the root of the tooth to build enough foundation for the cap to be placed on securely. Different materials can be used which usually depend on which tooth is being replaced. For less visible teeth, gold can be used, as it is a stronger material. Porcelain crowns can look much more similar to the original tooth which make them more useful for visible teeth.
In the past crowns could take several visits to complete. At Water Tower Dental Care they can now be completed in one visit with CEREC technology.

Veneers

Minimal Prep Veneers and Porcelain Veneers can be used for front chipped teeth. Similar to a cap, it is an exterior body resembling a tooth that is placed over your teeth. With veneers though, only a small amount of tooth enamel is filed down for the veneer to fit over the tooth. After filing the tooth, the dentist will make an impression of your teeth and color, then have veneers specially made. On a second visit, the veneers are cemented to your teeth.

Root Canals

In most severe cases, a tooth can fracture and expose the center of the tooth where nerves and blood vessels are. This area is known as the pulp and it is very sensitive. If exposed, the pulp can easily become infected. When this happens, the pulp must be extracted through a root canal procedure. The dentist removes the dead pulp and cleans out the emptied area. Next the canal is sealed to prevent future infection. Once sealed, a cap is placed over the remaining tooth.
Most chipped teeth happen from simple accidents. However, tooth decay can weaken a tooth to make it more likely to chip. Proper care and hygiene of your teeth is crucial. If you have any problems with a chipped tooth or would like to keep your teeth free of decay, contact Water Tower Dental to set up an appointment. We'd be happy to help.