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Tooth pain

Toothache: What to Do, and What It May Mean

Tooth pain is information. The pattern — sharp with cold, throbbing at night, sore to bite on — narrows the possibilities, but only an exam and usually an X-ray can tell you which one it is.

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Rinse with warm water and keep the area clean. An over-the-counter pain reliever you normally tolerate can help. Do not place aspirin directly against the gum or tooth. Call us for a same-day assessment if the pain is severe, waking you, or getting worse.
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What the pattern can suggest

These are associations, not diagnoses — the same symptom can have more than one cause.

Sharp, brief pain with cold
Often associated with exposed dentine, a worn area, a crack, or a failing filling.
Lingering ache after hot or cold
Can indicate the nerve inside the tooth is inflamed and may need treatment beyond a filling.
Throbbing that is worse lying down
Blood-flow changes when you lie flat can intensify inflammatory pain. It is worth being seen promptly.
Sore only when biting down
May be associated with a crack, a high spot on a filling, or the ligament around the root.
Dull ache with bad taste or swelling
Can indicate infection. This needs to be assessed quickly.

What we can explain here — and what needs an exam

A page can inform you. It cannot examine you. Here is the honest line.

We can explain online
Why pain often peaks at night
That pain can come from the tooth or from the gum around it
Why an X-ray is usually needed
What a same-day urgent visit involves here
Determined after an exam
Which tooth is actually the source
Whether the nerve is involved
Whether a filling, crown, root canal, or extraction is the right answer
Whether infection is present and how far it has spread

Pain that stops is not proof it is fixed

A tooth can hurt intensely and then go quiet. Sometimes that means the irritation settled. Sometimes it means the nerve inside has died, and the problem has not gone anywhere. If you have had significant pain that disappeared, it is still worth an exam.

Same-day availability for urgent problems

Call and describe what you are feeling. If it needs to be seen today, we will tell you plainly.

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General information reviewed by Mankirat Gill, DDS · August 2026. This page does not replace an in-person examination. If you have severe pain, spreading facial swelling, or trouble breathing or swallowing, call us or seek emergency care now.