27 May 2014
My teeth hurt after eating
When your teeth hurt after eating, more often than not it is a sign that there is inflammation in the soft, delicate tissues, or pulp, underlying one or more of your teeth. Inflammation pinches or presses on the sensitive nerves within the dental pulp, making your brain perceive pain. Thus, you feel your teeth hurting during or after eating.
Inflammation of the dental pulp, or pulpitis, is often caused by bacterial infection. Acids produced by fermentation of food debris and bacterial deposits on a tooth cause it to decay and form cavities or cracks. The acids along with bacteria seep through the fissures created on the tooth. There within the tooth, they can irritate the pulp and cause it to swell. Eventually, the bacteria infect the soft tissues as well. As the body’s immune system tries to fight of the infection, it produces pus. The pus accumulates and forms abscess inside the tooth. The abscess adds to the pressure on the nerves within the dental pulp and makes the pain more intense. When the pain inside a tooth becomes so intense, it can sometimes be transmitted to the neighbouring teeth, making locating the exact source more difficult. So you experience your teeth, rather than just one infected tooth, hurt after eating.
Aside from toothache resulting from bacterial infection or tooth decay, there may be other possible reasons why your teeth hurt after eating. One likely reason is that you may be suffering from periodontitis or some other gum disease which makes putting pressure on your teeth while eating painful. If the pain seems to be localised only on the teeth in your upper jaw, another possible cause is sinusitis, a swelling of the tissue lining of the sinuses. On the other hand, if the pain seems to be limited only to the teeth in your lower jaw, it may be that you are suffering from some kind of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. Then again, your teeth may hurt after eating because your teeth have just been traumatically injured, for instance you accidentally slipped down face first or you were punched in the mouth.
Once you notice that hurting your teeth after eating has already become a recurrent condition, that is, it persists even after two days have passed, don’t wait for your next regular dental appointment. Consider this a dental emergency. It may be that if addressed in time, your condition can still be reversed. If not, it may also be possible to prevent it from getting worse. Only a trained dentist can give you a proper diagnosis. Based on the diagnosis, your dentist can recommend the appropriate treatment. If the pain is caused by caries or tooth decay, he or she will clean and seal the cavities. If the dental pulp is beyond saving, he or she may give you root canal therapy. If the tooth itself is beyond saving, he or she may have to extract it to prevent the rot from spreading to the surrounding teeth. If the cause of your condition is non-dental or non-oral, he or she will give you a referral to the appropriate health care professional.
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