Been to the dentists today (toothache) and it has spawned this question; why do teeth have nerves inside them?
612096
I have often wondered this too.  Until very very recently (evolutionarily speaking) there is absolutely nothing we could do about the agonizing, crippling pain of a toothache, so what purpose does this pain serve?\n\nSure, it may act as a warning device, letting you know that a tooth is decayed or weak so that you don't put too much pressure on it, but then why is the pain so intense and WHY IS THERE NO OFF SWITCH??\n\nAn alarm that you can't shut off doesn't seem to be terribly useful.\n\nYou would think that any organism that could shut off their pain receptors to chronic pain would have a better chance of survival than an organism that is crippled in agony, but since no organism seems to have evolved that shut off switch, perhaps there is indeed an evolutionary advantage to a species for taking injured animals out of action.\n\nI can't think what that advantage would be though.
32193
My dentist uses a special CompuDent Wand that numbs the entire path of the needle and the tooth.  Sharp pain often occurs when a manual needle and its fluid compresses already sore tissue.  ComPudent is truly painless dentistry.  Even root canals are no sweat.  See the source (and insert your zip code to see if it is avaialable in your area).  Good luck.
941131
I have odd nerve endings in my teeth and Pain killers don't always work. Take a 600Mg Calcium pill to help ease the pain. Sounds crazy but calcium calms nerve endings.  Take one a day and it will help you thru till you get to the Dentist!
155659
I don't know what a premolar is. I had a toothache before and I went to the dentist. The x-ray showed that the tooth next to the one with the toothache was the one that needed to be pulled, which it was. Because of an infection in the tooth that originally had the tooth pain, I had to return to the dentist and have that tooth pulled as well. Sometimes, the pain in one tooth can indicate a problem with another tooth too.
518622
I'm a dentist.\n\nAttrition, my good friend.  Attrition.\n\nAs we age, our teeth tend to wear a little, but just a little.  Not enough to significantly alter the shape of any tooth.\n\nDid you know that the only time that our upper teeth and lower teeth should come into contact with each other is when we swallow?  Other than that, they should never touch.  Not when chewing your food.  Not when talking.  And certainly not at rest.  This is a fact.  The key words here, however, are "should never".  Unfortunately for most people, they touch much more frequently.\n\nWhat really changes the shape of our teeth is wear against the opposing teeth.  Many people grind their teeth or have some sort of habits that involve touching teeth together.\n\nAdditionally, dental work (with the exception of metallic materials) wears away the opposing teeth more quickly.  Porcelain crowns are notorious for causing excessive wear on teeth opposing them, as porcelain is much more abrasive than enamel.\n\nCanine teeth, both upper and lower (but especially the upper) serve an extremely important job in the mouth, and it is why any good dentist would make every last effort to save a canine tooth rather than extract it.  To explain this, I have to give you a little info about our masticatory system.  We have various muscles that close our jaws: masseter, temporalis, and medial pterygoids, all of which are controlled by the mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve (Cranial nerve 5).  This nerve originates in our brainstem, if memory serves.\n\nTeeth do not sit directly in bone.  They are suspended by the periodontal ligament (PDL for short), which has many nerves in it, some of which are pressure sensors that tell your brain how much pressure is being applied to the teeth.  That's how you know to chew hard on beef jerky and softly on ice cream.  When your molars' PDLs pressure receptors are stimulated, your brain knows that it is ok to provide full biting force with your muscles of mastication.  After all, they are thicker, more robust teeth that can withstand those forces.\n\nIn contrast, your front teeth (canines included) are less robust and are not suited to withstanding heavy biting forces.  As a result, when the PDLs of your front teeth are stimulated, feedback is sent to the brain causing your muscles to reduce their force.\n\nWhen your jaw is in its "neutral" position (for lack of a better word that the lay person can understand), your molars will occlude with each other, but your anterior teeth won't (i.e. the shouldn't, unless you have some abnormality).  Your teeth are safe this way.  Move your jaw side to side or even forward a little, and what happens?  Your canines start to hit eachother, and through feedback from the canines' PDLs your brain knows to relax the muscles.  It is a protective mechanism for both your teeth and your jaws that prevents you from biting hard with your jaw in a position that can cause damage to the teeth or TMJ.  This is known as "canine guidance".\n\nIndividuals who, for one reason or another, move their lower jaws more than usual are rubbing their canines more, hence the attrition.\n\nThis is about as simple as I can make the explanation.  I hope it helps.  I'll bet you never knew there was so much to the profession of dentistry!
552800
hmmm... ask your doctor. it's probably nothing, but just get it checked anyway. have you gotten your wisdom teeth out yet??? that might be it...
256197
If the nerve of a tooth is infected and left untreated then yes, it can most definitely lead to greater problems because the infection can spread into the bloodstream.  More than likely it's just going to land you in the hospital... but worst case scenerio, it could kill you.
1162611
First of all TEETH ARE NOT BONES.\n\n\nTeeth are depositions of enamel and dentin formed inside a tiny bud that grows(it's called a  tooth bud).  Each bud is formed like a sprout off a chain of sprouts, like leaves on a plant.  You are NOT born with all your teeth already started, but with most of them already started.   Your wisdom teeth are the last to start forming well after birth (I think 6 or 7 years) . \n\nAs part of the eruption process the new tooth (adult tooth) start to eat away the roots of the baby tooth in a controlled manner. as it takes away more and more of the baby tooth root,  the baby tooth becomes looser and falls out.   So what pushes the tooth out? The ligaments that attach the root to the bone provide the eruption force necessary for the tooth to move.
558128
Some people don't get them at all. One of mine didn't come in until I was in my 20's. I don't have dental insurance, so it is still there just hanging around with the rest of my teeth.  \nI think way back humans had them because of the food that they ate, but now that humans don't have to eat the rough food, our mouths have adapted to not needing these teeth to eat.
1082499
You're right that it isn't just the pain that bothers you, it's the fear of the pain.  Some dentists now use tranquilizer  stuff that can help you relax so that they can get to the next step of actually working on the tooth.  In fact, some even will anesthetize you just like for a surgery, so you don't have to deal with it at all!\n\nYouch!  I'm not surprised that you would be scared of the pain, your story makes me scared just reading it!\n\nIf your molar is  broken you really need to get it taken care of--germs can get into the nerve and then you would really be bad off! \n\nBy the way, when you were 12, obviously the dentist didn't do a good job of anesthetizing the area.  He should have poked around a bit to see if it had taken yet, and since it hadn't he should have given you more novacaine!  I had a bad molar pulled and was worried about it, but the dentist gave me extra shots so it was really, really numb, and it was fine.
505359
Call around to find another dentist but most won't touch you these days if you have not been to the dentist. This is going to cost you an arm and a leg. Nothing hurts worse than a toothache. You will need more than one appointment.\n\nGood luck!\nG.G.
499027
If your tooth is swollen, it is probably infected like a couple people have mentioned--or abscessed.  You get an abscess when you have a cavity that goes all the way through  the enamel and second layer of the tooth (dentin) and winds up in the pulp and root, where it becomes infected and painful.  Sometimes, you get these cavities below the gumline, so occasionally there's nothing you can really do to prevent them, besides good regular dental care.  I've been unlucky enough to have a couple abscessed teeth in my life, and even with the appropriate care, I still got them.  I would see a doctor for sure, so you can get the infection under control and get some relief!!!
848024
An abscessed tooth is usually sensitive or painful. Abscess is usually caused by deep decay or an accident. Abscessed or traumatized (nerve damage) tooth generally requires root canal therapy or extraction. The pieces of tooth that you mention may be that of fillings (3 failed fillings for same tooth by the same dentist?). Beware, as in certain cases an abscess may compromise the immune system. Find a new dentist fast for an attempt to save this tooth.
609401
OK, I had to have a HUGE filling a few months ago because I had a really big cavity that I'd ignored for a long time. To be honest, yes, it did hurt a bit getting it done, especially when the dentist drilled deep in the tooth, close to the nerve. \n\nBut when I saw the dentist then it was an emergency appointment just to fix that one tooth - he told me that I had a lot more cavities, but he couldn't do them because he was only for emergencies. He told me I should find another dentist to fill them ASAP as some of the cavities were fairly bad. Anyway, I ignored his advice and a couple of weeks ago needed to have a tooth extracted because it got so rotten.\n\nSo yes, getting deep cavities filled can be a bit painful, but it's certainly better than the alternative, which is leaving them to get so bad they need to be extracted. If you feel pain during the fillings, tell your dentist and he can give you more anaesthetic. And you won't even feel the needle if he needs to give you more, because your gum will be numb. Good luck!
587587
Cavities can happen on ANY tooth and that's why dentist are highly trained to handle filling them to stop the cavity from doing more damage.\n\nWhen you get "plaque" on your teeth, what you are getting is a "film of bacteria." These bacteria stick to your teeth, and one of the things they do is create acid as a by-product of their metabolism. The acid can eat through the enamel of the tooth and cause a cavity -- a hole through the enamel. \n\nThere are three parts to a tooth: \n\nThe outer, very hard enamel \nThe inner, much softer dentin (Dentin is like ivory.) \nThe core pulp, consisting of nerves and blood vessels \nOnce the acid breaks through the enamel, bacteria invade the dentin and can eat through it fairly quickly. If they make it to the pulp, that is when you get a tooth infection and need a root canal. \n\nWhen a dentist drills a tooth, what he or she is doing is shaping an opening. The first reason to do this is to ensure that all of the rot in the dentin is completely removed. \n\nThe second reason is to create a shape to which the filling (either silver/mercury amalgam or plastic) can bond and fill completely.
956982
Find a really good dentist! I was so scared of the dentist before i didn't go to the dentist for 8 years till one day  i had a toochache so i went in and the dentist didn't even touch me and i was already cryng like a baby on chair lol. My dentist is so nice, he knows how to work with with dental phobia when i went back again he gave me some pills to relax that helped. I don't need to take them anymore, but still everytime i go i have butterflies at the stomach but the minute i sat at the chair i feel fine and lauch at my dentist who is joking around! So ask friends or family ro really good dentist, i am sure they know that's how i find mine! good luck
182687
Infection in your inner ear canal....\n\nYou need to see a Doctor.\n\nOh.. can also be a bad tooth ache.  But generally.. Inner ear infection...