How Long Does Tooth Nerve Pain Last?

May 1, 2022

Have you ever felt an unexpected sharp pain in your teeth when you sip something cold or hot? What of a dull throbbing toothache that builds up and persists for a long time? You are most likely to be suffering from tooth nerve pain.

Tooth nerve pain can last for a few days or take weeks. Find out below how long tooth nerve pain lasts, the causes, and how it can be relieved.

Causes of Tooth Nerve Pain

The nerves in your teeth are located at the pulp, and this is a bundle of nerves and blood vessels at the center of your tooth.

Nerve pain in your teeth falls into two categories:

1. Pulp Sensitivity

If your nerve pain focuses on one of your teeth, the problem will likely affect the pulp. The causes of nerve pain in the teeth that affects your pulp include:

• Chipped, cracked, or broken tooth
• Tooth decay or infection
• Pressure from clenching or grinding your teeth
• A recent dental filling

2. Dentinal Sensitivity

Dentinal sensitivity is nerve pain in the teeth which is more widespread. This nerve pain in your teeth occurs when your enamel is eroded or damaged, and external stimuli such as cold, heat, and acid reach the nerve endings in the dentin layer of your tooth.

Causes of dentinal sensitivity include:

• Untreated cavities
• Receding gum line
• Use of teeth whitening products
• Brushing your teeth too hard
• A recent gum surgery that exposes the roots of your tooth

How Long Does Nerve Pain Last in A Tooth?

On average, a tooth nerve pain can last from as little as just a few days to as long as 4-6weeks or, in some instances, even longer. Considering the numbness ad sharp pain that may occur with a tooth nerve, you have to do what you can to get rid of the pain as soon as possible.

Nerve pain, as explained above, can be caused by the pressure from the surrounding tissues that place a lot of stress on your tooth’s nerve. In addition, the muscles, cartilage, bones, and tendons can make all press against a nerve. This can cause the nerve to lose its function and thus lead to numbness, tingling, sharp pain like a burning sensation, and muscle weakness.

Treating the tooth nerve pain at Heavenly Smiles Dentist is crucial to your recovery timeline. A more severe case of tooth nerve pain may require surgery.

To help you alleviate the symptoms at home, one can follow the following home remedies:

• Apply ice by wrapping it in a towel to the affected area to help numb the pain.
• I am practicing regular dental hygiene. This is by regular flossing and brushing your teeth.
• Prop your head with pillows at night to keep your head elevated.
• Taking prescribed over the counter pain relievers to help alleviate the pain
• Rinse your mouth with salt water, which helps remove food particles stuck between your teeth. It can also help deal with infection by reducing inflammation.
• Rinsing your mouth with hydrogen peroxide reduces inflammation. Ensure to spit the hydrogen peroxide after swashing it in your mouth.
• You are applying hot or cold tea to the affected area. Peppermint tea bags are great for relieving pain because of their antibacterial functions. However, cause tea may stain your teeth, you are advised not to use this method regularly.

Tooth Nerve Pain Relief and Treatments

Different dental problems can solve the issue depending on the cause of your tooth’s nerve pain. Two of these most common procedures for treating nerve pain include root canals and dental fillings.

• Fillings

If a simple cavity causes your tooth nerve pain, a filling can repair the cavity. When you are undergoing the filling process, your emergency dentist near you will numb the areas using anesthesia, remove the decayed material and replace it using a dental filling.

• Root Canal

A root canal is done if your tooth’s nerve pain results from a severely infected or decayed tooth. Your dentist removes the damaged nerve and pulp from inside your tooth during the root canal process, cleans the affected area, and seals it. The nerves inside your teeth are essential for a healthy tooth function, and a root canal will cure some types of tooth nerve pain.

9 methods to get rid of toothache at night

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Having a toothache at night can make falling asleep or staying asleep very difficult. Methods to relieve or reduce the pain range from taking pain relief medication to chewing on a clove or using an extra pillow.

However, there are a number of remedies that may help people find relief and get to sleep, including taking pain relievers or applying a cold compress or even cloves to the tooth.

In this article, learn more about nine home remedies for relieving a toothache at night.

Treating a toothache at night may be more difficult, as there is not much to distract a person from the pain.

However, people can try the following methods to relieve pain:

1. Oral pain medication

Taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) is a quick, simple way for many people to effectively reduce mild-to-moderate toothaches.

Always stay within the recommended dosage on the packaging.

If the toothache is severe, it is best to see a dentist and speak to them about stronger pain relievers.

2. Cold compress

Using a cold compress may help ease the pain of a toothache.

Applying a bag of ice wrapped in a towel to the affected side of the face or jaw helps constrict the blood vessels in the area, which can reduce pain to allow a person to fall asleep.

Applying a cold compress to the area for 15–20 minutes every few hours in the evening may also help prevent pain when going to bed.

3. Elevation

Pooling blood in the head may cause additional pain and inflammation. For some people, elevating the head with an extra pillow or two may relieve the pain enough for them to fall asleep.

4. Medicated ointments

Some medicated ointments may also help reduce toothache pain. OTC numbing gels and ointments that contain ingredients such as benzocaine may numb the area.

However, benzocaine is not suitable for use by young children.

5. Salt water rinse

A simple salt water rinse is a common home remedy for a toothache.

Salt water is a natural antibacterial agent, so it may reduce inflammation. This, in turn, helps protect damaged teeth from infection.

Rinsing with salt water may also help remove any food particles or debris stuck in the teeth or gums.

6. Hydrogen peroxide rinse

Periodontitis is a serious gum infection that generally occurs as a result of poor oral hygiene. It can cause issues such as soreness, bleeding gums, and teeth that come loose in their sockets.

The author of a 2016 study found that rinsing with hydrogen peroxide mouthwash helped reduce plaque and symptoms of periodontitis.

People should always dilute food-grade hydrogen peroxide with equal parts water. Swish the solution in the mouth, but do not swallow it.

This remedy is not suitable for children, as there is a risk they may accidentally swallow the mixture.

7. Peppermint tea

Swishing peppermint tea or sucking on peppermint tea bags may also help temporarily relieve pain from a toothache.

Researchers note that peppermint contains antibacterial and antioxidant compounds. Menthol, an active ingredient in peppermint, may also have a mild numbing effect on sensitive areas.

8. Clove

Eugenol, which is one of the main compounds in cloves, can reduce tooth pain. The results of a 2015 clinical trial indicated that people who applied eugenol to their gums and socket after having a tooth extracted had less pain and inflammation during healing.

Eugenol acts as an analgesic, which means that it numbs the area. To use clove for a toothache, soak ground cloves in water to make a paste. Then, apply the paste to the tooth, or put it in an empty tea bag and place it in the mouth.

Alternatively, gently chewing or sucking on a single clove and then allowing it to sit near the painful tooth may help relieve pain.

This is not a suitable remedy for children, as they may swallow too much clove. Single cloves can be spiky and painful if a person swallows them.

9. Garlic

Garlic is a common household ingredient that some people use to relieve toothache pain.

Allicin, which is the main compound in garlic, has a strong antibacterial effect that may help kill the bacteria in the mouth that lead to cavities and tooth pain.

Simply chewing a clove of garlic and allowing it to sit near the tooth may help relieve pain. That said, the taste of raw garlic can be too strong for some people, so this may not be the right solution for everyone.

Tooth decay is a very common cause of a toothache. Tooth decay may lead to cavities if a person does not receive treatment.

Cavities occur when acids and bacteria break through the enamel and eat away at the delicate tissues inside the tooth. This can expose the nerve, causing mild-to-severe pain.

Sinus infections may also cause toothache in some people. This symptom occurs as the infection drains from the head. Symptoms such as pain and pressure from the infection may hurt more at night.

Other potential causes for a toothache include:

• losing a filling
• dental abscesses
• trauma to the jaw
• a wisdom tooth or adult tooth coming in
• food stuck in the teeth or gums
• grinding the teeth at night
• gum disease

Toothaches can be painful in the day, but they may seem to get worse at night.

One reason that this may occur is because when a person is lying down, blood rushes to the head. This extra blood in the area may increase the pain and pressure that people feel from a toothache.

Another reason why many aches feel worse at night is because there are fewer distractions. With little else to focus on but the toothache, a person may find it difficult to fall asleep.

People with a toothache at night should see a dentist as soon as possible. Any home remedies are only for temporary relief.

If the toothache also comes with other signs of an infection, a person may need antibiotics to clear out the infection.

When a cracked or decaying tooth is causing the pain, a person should see their dentist. They will be able to find a permanent solution.

Ignoring the signs of tooth decay, such as an aching tooth, may lead to more serious issues, including abscesses, gum disease, and tooth loss.

Dealing with a toothache is a painful experience. Although many home remedies can provide temporary relief and help a person get some sleep, they are not permanent solutions.

Anyone who experiences a toothache for longer than 1 or 2 days without symptoms of a sinus infection should see a dentist for a full diagnosis and treatment.

They may need to clean out a cavity or consider more serious options, such as root canals or tooth extractions.

Some of the home remedies in this article are available in stores and online:

• Shop for ibuprofen.
• Shop for cold compresses.
• Shop for medicated ointments.
• Shop for hydrogen peroxide.
• Shop for peppermint tea.

Inflammation of the dental nerve – useful information from doctors of dentistry Dr. Frolov

Why is it so important to cure caries in a timely manner?

If you feel a sharp pain in a tooth affected by caries, it is quite possible that you have developed pulpitis . Pulpitis is called inflammation of the dental nerve, most often a complication of caries. Inside the hard shell of the tooth is a soft tissue (pulp), consisting of special cells and penetrated by nerves, lymphatic and blood vessels. With advanced caries, the infection penetrates into the pulp through the destroyed tooth wall, causing focal inflammation. This stage of the disease is called acute pulpitis and is characterized by acute pain in the tooth, which intensifies at night, as well as from contact with hot and cold food. If you do not go to the dentist and do not start the treatment of a diseased tooth in a timely manner, the inflammation will go into a chronic stage. Various types of chronic pulpitis are characterized either by the growth of the connective tissue of the tooth (up to the formation of a fibrous polyp), or by the decay of the soft tissues of the tooth. If at this stage the treatment of the tooth is not started, pulpitis can lead to periodontitis – violation of the integrity of the tissues surrounding the tooth. Periodontitis is characterized by acute pain at the slightest pressure on the tooth and threatens to lose it, as well as the destruction of bone tissue and the formation of cysts.

Treatment of pulpitis

The easiest way to get rid of the disease is to avoid it by taking the necessary preventive procedures in a timely manner. If you have caries, it is better to start its treatment before the formation of various complications. Modern dental methods and equipment allow you to almost completely avoid unpleasant pain during the treatment of caries and keep your teeth healthy and beautiful for a long time.

If you have already developed inflammation of the dental nerve, you should contact a specialist as soon as possible. After examining and taking an x-ray, a competent dentist will be able to answer whether it is possible in your case to save the tooth or whether it needs to be removed. Extraction of a tooth affected by pulpitis, in most cases, is carried out in two visits. First, under anesthesia, the root canal of the tooth is opened and the affected pulp tissue is removed. The dentist cleans the root canals, seals them and applies a devitalizing paste and a temporary filling. During the secondary visit, an x-ray examination is performed to assess the quality of canal filling and the presence of possible complications. In the event that no intervention is required, a permanent seal is installed. In the future, to strengthen the pulpless tooth, it will be necessary to install a crown on it.

Why does a tooth hurt after nerve removal?

Pain that bothers you immediately after the removal of the dental nerve is normal. The tissues surrounding the tooth, damaged during the removal of the pulp, are also permeated with nerve fibers and have sensitivity. However, if the pain after depulpation continues for quite a long time and does not subside, you need to contact a specialist again. Most often, pain in a tooth devoid of a nerve is due to complications after an illiterately performed depulpation operation. The most common causes are partial removal of the dental nerve, inadequate root canal preparation (the filling agent does not completely fill the canal or goes beyond it), as well as leakage of the installed filling. Such errors lead to the creation of a focus of chronic inflammation in an already dead tooth, devoid of pulp, and the further development of periodontitis. This situation can be corrected by unsealing and secondary cleaning of the root canals using disinfectants. In some cases, it is necessary to perform a resection of the apex of the tooth root – a surgical operation during which the root of the tooth and the inflamed tissues surrounding it are removed through a hole in the gum. If more gentle treatment fails, the diseased tooth is removed completely, followed by the creation of a dental implant in its place.

Acute toothache: what to do, causes

Causes

There are several likely causes of acute toothache:

• Pulpitis. This is an inflammation of the internal soft tissues of the tooth. The pulp provides nutrition to the hard tissues of the tooth, it is permeated with blood vessels and nerves. Therefore, its damage causes pain, which increases over time. The main cause of inflammatory processes inside the pulp is the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into it, most often streptococcus and staphylococcus. Pulpitis is preceded by caries. Tooth enamel is destroyed gradually, and sooner or later the carious focus reaches the pulp. A rarer cause of inflammation is trauma to the tooth, fractures, spalls of the crown part. Pain with pulpitis intensifies at night, radiates to the ear or temple area. It can be so strong that it forces the patient to see a doctor in the next few hours or the next day.

• Periodontitis. This is an inflammation of the periodontium – the tissues surrounding the root of the tooth in the region of its apex. The reason for the development of periodontitis is the decomposition of the dental nerve and damage to the ligament that holds the tooth. The disease develops as a result of untreated pulpitis, when pathogenic microorganisms penetrate the periodontium through the root canal. Pain with periodontitis is sharp and sharp, aggravated by the slightest touch to the tooth. The patient cannot fully chew food, swelling of the gums and cheeks, and an increase in body temperature are possible.

• periodontal abscess. This is a purulent focus in periodontal tissues. The accumulation of purulent exudate causes acute pain. On examination, the dentist reveals the presence of deep periodontal pockets, root exposure. An abscess can spread to two teeth at once.

The appearance of acute pain is an alarming symptom, it indicates the rapid development of the pathological process. If you do not consult a doctor immediately, there will be a risk of complications – abscess, phlegmon, osteomyelitis.

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What to do if your tooth hurts badly

Acute toothache always requires an emergency visit to the dentist. To alleviate your condition before visiting a doctor, you can use the following methods:

• Taking drugs from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). They not only relieve pain, but also relieve inflammation and have an antipyretic effect.

• With swelling of the gums, you can use topical agents – anesthetic dental gels. Their active substance is rapidly absorbed by the mucous membranes.

• Of the home remedies, only applying cold and rinsing the tooth with a soda solution is suitable. Cold constricts blood vessels, which slows down the development of inflammation. Baking soda is antibacterial and relieves pain. The solution should be slightly warm.

These methods are enough to reduce pain for several hours. If an attack of pain began on a weekend or holiday, you need to contact any dental clinic that provides emergency care. There are institutions that work around the clock.

Do’s and Don’ts for Acute Toothache

In no case should warm and hot compresses be applied to the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe diseased tooth. Heat stimulates blood circulation, and the inflammatory process can spread to several teeth at once.

What else can not be done:

• apply tablets to the tooth – you can get a burn of the mucous membrane;

• experiment with dubious folk recipes;

• take a horizontal position, observe bed rest – toothache is easier to bear on your feet;

• chew on solid food;

• smoke.

The task of the patient before he goes to the doctor is to prevent the situation from worsening. A sick tooth must be protected from temperature extremes and accidental mechanical impact.

Diagnostics

To determine the cause of acute pain, the doctor must conduct a diagnosis. The patient is given an X-ray of the tooth. From the picture, the dentist will determine what the cause is, in inflammation of the nerve, inflammation of the periodontium, or a purulent abscess. Often, incidental findings in the form of cysts or granulomas are found on x-rays. Also, an x-ray can show that it is not the tooth that the patient complains about that hurts and is destroyed, but the neighboring one. With extensive inflammation, the patient does not always accurately indicate the location of the pain, so it is impossible to do without diagnostic measures.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the cause of the pain:

• Pulpitis. Inflammation of the pulp requires complete removal of the neurovascular bundle. The doctor drills out carious tissues and removes tooth tissue above the pulp chamber. This provides visualization of the root canals. Then, using special tools, the doctor removes the pulp, cleans, disinfects and expands the root canals. Then they are sealed and X-ray quality control of the sealing is carried out. The permanent filling can then be placed. Pulpitis can not always be cured in one visit, sometimes the patient has to spend some time with a temporary filling. Once the pulp is removed, the tooth is considered “dead”. Now there is no blood supply in it, which guarantees the absence of pain, but at the same time the tooth becomes more fragile and will have to be covered with a crown.

• Periodontitis. With periodontitis, root canals are treated with antiseptic solutions. If the channel accumulates purulent exudate, it is drained. During root canal treatment, the dentist uses antiseptics, enzymes, anesthetics, and pastes that promote bone tissue regeneration. Oral antibiotics may be prescribed.

• periodontal abscess. The purulent focus is opened and washed with an antiseptic solution. After that, periodontal pockets are scraped. They are cleaned of granulations, subgingival plaque, tartar. If necessary, sutures and a periodontal bandage are applied. Antibiotics and antiprotozoal drugs are also prescribed.

The treatment of dental diseases that are accompanied by pain in our clinic is always carried out using anesthesia. The patient does not experience pain during medical manipulations. Later, when the anesthesia wears off, aching pain may appear. This is a common occurrence after canal treatment and filling. Discomfort will disappear within a week and can be easily stopped with painkillers.

Prophylaxis

To prevent acute toothache, you need to monitor the condition of the oral cavity, treat caries in a timely manner, preventing the development of pulpitis and its complications.