11 Reasons Why Your Tooth Hurts When You Bite Down

Simply put, your tooth shouldn’t hurt when you bite down. If you’re experiencing tooth pain when you chew or whenever pressure is applied, then you should contact your dentist at Bloor West Smiles immediately. You should never ignore a toothache.

If biting or chewing causes tooth pain, it’s likely due to one of the reasons listed below. When you visit our dental care clinic, we’ll be able to diagnose the problem and offer quality care.

1. Cavity

If your tooth hurts when you bite down, there’s a good chance that you have a cavity. Cavities are tooth decay wherein a small hole appears in your tooth. They cause sensitivity, mild-to-sharp pain when eating or drinking, and spontaneous pain. Food can even get stuck in large cavities. Many people become sensitive to sweets when they have a cavity.

2. Tooth sensitivity

Worn-down enamel can cause tooth sensitivity, which could cause your tooth to hurt when you bite down. When the enamel gets too thin or wears away entirely, the nerves inside your tooth are unprotected. As a result, you experience pain when hot, cold, or overly acidic foods hit the nerve centre.

3. Cracked or fractured tooth

Minor cracks and hairline fractures cause few obvious symptoms, except for tooth pain when you bite down. These types of dental injuries are almost impossible to spot with the naked eye and are often undetectable on X-rays. You’ll require special diagnosis and testing from a trusted Toronto dental care clinic, like Bloor West Smiles.

4. Loose tooth

When you bite down on a loose tooth, the tiny ligaments are stretched and pulled. This causes pain, discomfort, and soreness. Unless you’re a child losing your primary teeth, your tooth shouldn’t be loose.

A loose tooth often points to something serious, like gum disease. Conversely, it could result from a sports injury or car incident that has damaged the tooth, causing it to become loose.

5. Loose filling

Your tooth may not be loose, but it’s possible that your filling is. Over time, some fillings start to leak or pull away from the tooth as they age. Every time you bite down on that tooth, the filling moves ever so slightly. This leads to discomfort and tooth pain. You may not be able to see the gap around the filling (called an “open margin”); however, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

6. Gum disease

A common symptom of gum disease, also called periodontal disease, is tooth pain. Gum disease destroys the ligaments that attach the roots of your teeth to your gums. As the infection worsens, your gums recede, exposing the sensitive tooth roots, and begin to swell and bleed severely. In these cases, the pressure of biting down is particularly painful.

7. Dental abscess

A dental abscess is when a pocket of pus forms around the gums or root of an infected tooth. They can occur because of tooth damage (like a crack, fracture, or deep cavity), periodontal disease, or an untreated bacterial infection in your gums.

In such cases, bacteria enter the tooth and surrounding tissue and an abscess forms. This is a severe oral health condition that requires urgent dental care.

8. Reoccurring infection

In very rare cases, a root canal fails. The infection recurs, even though the infected dental pulp was removed during your treatment. Some residual bacteria or nerve tissues close to the tip of your tooth are behind your new tooth pain. If you feel some painful twinging in this area every time you chew, contact your dentist immediately.

9. Malocclusion

Malocclusion is when your upper and lower teeth are misaligned. This means that whenever you bite down, the pressure is distributed unevenly. Some teeth bear the brunt of the weight, while others take on none at all.

You may get a sore tooth or experience severe pain, as a result. Malocclusion can be caused by a variety of issues, including hereditary factors, missing teeth, and ill-fitted dental fillings.

10. Gum recession

When gums recede, the tooth roots become exposed. This makes the affected tooth extremely sensitive to pressure, temperature changes, and acidity. Every time you bite down, the impact on the exposed root causes pain.

Furthermore, you may feel sharp pain whenever any food or liquid comes into contact with the root surface. Although recession can result from a serious oral health condition (like gum disease), it can also be caused by teeth grinding, malocclusion, and aggressive tooth brushing.

11. Sinus infection

Sometimes, your tooth pain has nothing to do with your teeth. The roots of your teeth are located very close to your nasal tissues, so inflamed sinuses can cause a toothache. Your upper molars are most likely to be affected.

When to Seek Dental Care at a Clinic

If you’re experiencing a persistent toothache, you need to take it seriously. Tooth pain indicates that something very wrong is happening inside your mouth—and it isn’t going to go away without proper treatment. The problem will only get worse.

It’s important to recognize that most oral health issues don’t cause pain in the early stages. This means that by the time you start to feel pain or sensitivity, the problem has been ongoing for quite some time. You’re only feeling it now because it’s gotten worse. The longer you leave it, the more severe it will become.

It’s crucial to visit a clinic for dental care as soon as possible. Quickly pinpointing the main cause makes prompt treatment possible. That way, it can be addressed before it evolves into something even more serious.

Additionally, the earlier you receive treatment for an oral health condition, the less invasive (and costly) that treatment tends to be. Instead of needing a root canal, you may just require a filling.

Bloor West Smiles: Toronto’s Top Dental Care Clinic

If you need dental care in Toronto, Bloor West Smiles is ready to assist you. We offer a wide range of services, including emergency dental care for injuries and severe pain. If you’re experiencing pain when biting down or any other kind of oral health issue, please call our dental care clinic today.

To learn more about dental care services in Toronto, call Bloor West Smiles at 647-371-1407 or contact us here.