Why is toothache so painful and unbearable? Tooth is a hard tissue with pulp inside which is also known as tooth nerve. The pulp tissue contains nerves and blood vessels. Once it is irritated, tooth pain is often the result.

Many people who have gone through toothache say that toothache is very uncomfortable and causes a strong tingling sensation. People who experience frequent toothaches must be cautious, as that might be a sign of disease. Why does a toothache hurt so much? Let’s learn more below.

Causes of toothache

1. Tooth sensitivity, which is usually caused by gum recession, exposure of dentin and tooth defect. In such case, tooth pain will be triggered by cold, hot, sweet, acidic stimuli, but it stops when stimuli are removed.

2. Food impaction and dental caries. Food debris caught in the interdental area can cause food impaction pain, and dental caries, by stimulating the gums and tooth nerves, can also cause tooth pain.

3. Dry socket, which occurs in 2 to 4 days after tooth extraction, and is accompanied by severe spontaneous chronic pain. Examination found that the blood clot in the dry socket smells bad.

4. Periodontal abscess. The inflammation in periodontal tissue can further develop to suppurative inflammation. Severe pain can be felt during the formation of the abscess, but that sensation will be significantly relieved when the abscess is formed.

5. Acute periodontitis. Tooth pain caused by acute periodontitis is similar to that by acute apical periodontitis. The diseased tooth not only triggers chewing pain and a sense of floating, but also give rise to periodontal pocket and loose tooth. Moreover, the gum tissue will suffer from recurrent swelling and bleeding.

6. Acute pulpitis, which is commonly seen in patients with deep caries. Bacteria enter the pulp chamber from the tooth cavity, causing the nerves to become congested and inflamed. Acute pulpitis causes spontaneous pain which will be exacerbated at night, or after stimulated by hot and cold stimuli. The pain may also spread to the face, temporal area and ears. Patients with suppurative pulpitis will suffer from fever and exacerbated pain to hot stimuli, but relieved (or no) pain to cold stimuli. This is the most common cause of adult toothache.