A 49-year-old patient recently
contacted me concerning a blow to one of her front teeth when her pet dog leapt unexpectedly into her lap causing sudden pain and growing discomfort. The next
morning, she confirmed her front right tooth highly sensitive and throbbing.
Her concern rightly so had the incident instigated permanent damage. (Fortunately for my patient, her sensitive
tooth was a bruise to the dental pulp and her moderate sensitivity subsided
after two weeks.)
These types of questions are asked of
me quite often with the patient’s properly alarmed and wanting to know if there
is an evaluation by x-ray which will confirm the dental trauma. The answer is no. However be assured, there are definitive
symptoms I look for which allow me to measure and treat the severity of the dental
nerve damage. Listed below are noticeable characteristics of potential nerve
damage which if experienced, warrant a call to us without hesitation for a
dental evaluation.Pain
in the tooth with normal daily activity
- Pain in tooth with normal daily activities
- Pain in the tooth when chewing food
- Tooth pain when biting down
- Swelling on the face in an abscessed tooth
- Presence of gum boils
- Tenderness of the gums
- Over-sensitivity of the tooth to cold or hot drinks and foods if exposed through the decayed part
- Unbearable pain in the tooth possibly leading to fever
- Discoloration of the tooth caused by blood flow to the dead or damaged pulp
