Do you have signs of infection in your tooth?
Find out what a nerve in your tooth is, and whether or not it is possible to ‘kill’ it.
What Is a Tooth Nerve?
When the dental pulp or soft tissue inside your tooth is infected or unprotected (because of tooth cracks or gum recession), you are most likely to suffer from nerve damage. This soft tissue which contains nerves and blood vessels is located under the dentin.
Causes
Here are the top two causes of nerve damage:
- Injuries. An accident that brings a traumatic blow to your teeth or jaw could break or crack your teeth, result to tooth fracture or result in nerve damage as they expose your tooth’s nerves. It could range from a terrible blow or simply biting down hard on something unexpectedly.
- Severe tooth decay. Cavities can damage your tooth down to the nerves and expose the pulp, making it susceptible to infection.
Can I Kill a Tooth Nerve?
Despite the growing number of YouTube videos teaching how to kill tooth nerve pain in seconds, it is almost impossible to treat infection, and hence “kill” the nerve pain without seeing a dentist.
The dentist “kills” it by performing a pulp therapy, to devitalize the tooth pulp which has the exposed or infected nerve tissue. This is part of the root canal treatment, where dentists use specific agents and tools to remove the dead or degenerated nerves or pulp tissue. Depending on the severity of the infection, they may also prescribe antibiotics to kill the bacteria and cold lasers or anti-inflammatory medications to reduce swelling and pain.
Seek emergency treatment if you see any of the following signs of an infected tooth:
- Blood or pus draining from your gum area
- Fever
- Red, swollen gums
- Salty taste in your mouth
- Swelling of your face or jaw
- Swollen bump in your mouth
- Throbbing pain
Home Remedy To Stop Tooth Nerve Pain
While you cannot literally “kill” the tooth nerve pain yourself, there are natural ways to reduce your tooth pain, before you visit your dentist:
- Apply cold packs like cool peppermint tea bags to the side of your jaw. You can also use hot packs. This will relieve pain and discomfort.
- Take over-the-counter pain medications
- Acupressure. There are specific points in the body that relieves tooth nerve pain.
Author: Peter Mayhew
Peter is a dental hygienist in the city of Chicago, IL. In his free time he likes to write blogs and product reviews on anything dental health related.
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