Your teeth are among the more important parts of your body. Your teeth perform important functions, from diction and speech to chewing and tearing your food, and even giving you a beautiful smile to show off to the world. Which is why taking proper care of your oral hygiene and health is something that is of the utmost importance. And part of taking care of your oral health is having any tooth aches and pains that you have checked out by a dental health professional. Here are three reasons why you should always get your tooth pain checked out by a professional.
Your Tooth Could Be Infected
The first reason why you should get your tooth pain checked out is because your tooth could be infected. Tooth infections are not just the most common tooth related ailment but is one of the most common infections reported around the globe. While tooth infection may be a common tooth problem, it does not mean that it can be treated at home. Tooth infections require a dentist’s care to properly heal and prevent further spreading of the infection. Be on the lookout for painful teeth, swollen gums, discoloration, and foul-smelling breath as signs of a tooth infection.
It Could Be a Wisdom Tooth
The next reason you should get your tooth pain checked out is because it could be a wisdom tooth. Wisdom teeth are a set of teeth that most everyone has, but few people have room for in their mouth. This often results in something called impacted wisdom teeth, pain that comes from wisdom teeth erupting from the gums with enough room in the mouth for them to grow in. Impacted wisdom teeth may even lead to flu-like symptoms. If your tooth pain is concentrated at the very back of your rows of teeth, you may well be suffering from impacted wisdom teeth.
It Could Be a Damaged Filling
The final reason that you should get tooth pain checked out is that it could be a damaged filling. When you have cavities, you get fillings to fill the holes in your teeth and seal off your nerves to prevent further damage and pain. But these fillings can get loose, chipped, or fall out over time, which can cause the pain to return. If your pain is centered around a tooth or teeth that you know have fillings, it may be that you need your filling replaced.
Tooth pain is no joke. It can be incredibly disruptive to daily life and almost always needs to be treated by a dental health professional to truly heal. Think about these three reasons you should get tooth pain checked out next time you have a toothache and don’t feel like seeing a dentist.
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