posted
Okay. So I was just eating, and I found a hole in my molar.
It doesn't hurt. Nor does it hurt when I drink icewater. I have no idea what this is. Can anyone clue me in as to what's going on in my mouth?
Posts: 2258 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Well, that all depends. Did you have any fillings? If that was indeed the problem, you probably swallowed it; so if you don't die of heavy-metal poisoning in the next few days, you can discard that hypothesis. Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
VIGORGOUS brushing is actually bad for your gums, it can cause receding (I say this because my sister's dentist chastized her for the same thing and she had to have skin grafted onto her gums).
As for your tooth, see a dentist as soon as you can. You can still have a cavity without feeling any pain. You can still GET cavities despite maintaining good oral health habits.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
mack is right as usual. The last big hole I had in a tooth was an old filling that fell out, so that is entirely possible. Especially if it's been more than 10 years since the filling was put in.
Cavities don't cause pain at first, and yes, you can have even big pieces of your tooth fall out and it not hurt. Once half of one of my wisdom teeth just shattered, the dentist couldn't believe it didn't hurt but I had zero pain. Luckily it was just a wisdom tooth which needed to come out anyway, because he said there's no way he could have filled it, there wasn't enough tooth left.
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posted
Dang, I'm up in Austin and my dentist is down in Houston. I'll have to consult ye olde ma and pa one this one.
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posted
Cavities only hurt once they reach the nerves in the middle of the tooth; enamel has no nerves.
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Sensitive teeth pain occurs when exposed sensory nerves in the tooth react to various stimuli. The layer of the tooth under the enamel is called the “dentin”. Microscopic tubules act like tiny straws located in the dentin. They contain fluid and nerve endings. Dentin can be exposed as gum tissue recedes or when the enamel is worn away – often by aggressive tooth brushing. When stimuli like cold food or beverages or you make contact with the exposed dentin, they cause the fluid in the dentinal tubules to move rapidly outward, resulting in sensitive teeth pain.
posted
An old filling fell out. Have your dentist replace it immediately, or face an expensive root canal when the tooth starts hurting.
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So if you have a hole in your tooth that is very deep, but you feel no pain or reaction through it, then the tooth may be dead. (meaning the nerves and blood supply to the tooth have died off and the tooth is kind of just "there").
I have a couple of dead teeth. You have to worry about whether or not they will begin to absess at the root level. One of my dead teeth calcified on its own (meaning the nerve running through the root, insteaed of infecting, just died and the bone kind of "filled in" and sealed it over). So I feel no pain through it and it works just fine, etc.
Either way, you probably should have a dentist look at it.
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