Toothache or Sensitivity

When sensitivity to cold or sweets comes from a small cavity, dental fillings are the fix, and usually the whole fix. The area is numbed, the decay is cleaned out, and a tooth-colored composite is placed in thin layers and hardened with a light. Dr. Bhoompalli shapes it to match the tooth and checks your bite before you leave. A filling is done in a single visit, and a composite filling typically lasts five to seven years. Small cavities often cause no pain at all, which is why most are found on checkup x-rays rather than by the patient.

A deep, throbbing ache, sensitivity to heat that lingers, or swelling in the gum means bacteria have reached the pulp, the soft core of nerve and blood vessels inside the tooth. That is where root canal therapy comes in. With the tooth completely numb, Dr. Bhoompalli removes the infected pulp, cleans and shapes the canals inside the roots, and seals them. The pain stops because its cause is gone. A root canal usually takes a few hours, and a tooth in pain is treated as an emergency here. Most patients report the root canal itself was painless.

A tooth that hurts when you bite down may be cracked, or may have a failing old filling that has left too little tooth to patch. Dental crowns handle that case. A crown is a custom cap over the whole visible tooth that holds what is left together so the crack cannot spread down into the root. It takes two visits: shaping and an impression first, then the permanent crown is fitted and the bite is checked. A crown is also how most back teeth are finished after a root canal, because a tooth without its pulp becomes brittle.