by Marie Kauna – EMTV Online, Port Moresby
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 60-90% of children and 100% of adults worldwide have dental cavities. This means, tooth ache can occur to anyone if not careful with looking after your mouth and your teeth.
If you do not know what causes toothaches, here are few to help you.
Toothache can be caused by:
- Tooth decay
- Gum infection
- Fractured or broken teeth
- Tooth grinding
- Improper tooth brushing
- Impacted wisdom teeth
Some of these causes can be prevented if precaution is taken.
You also need to know the signs and symptoms. You should seek further dental care for treatment, if you come across any of these:
- When chewing, you feel pain
- When you feel hot or cold sensitivity – fever or headache
- When you experience bleeding or discharge around a tooth or your gum
- When you feel swelling around a tooth or your jaw and
- When there is an injury to trauma to the area where you feel pain
When you feel all of the above or one of the above, this should indicate that the sign is associated with dental decay, tooth fracture or gum disease. Seek further dental care right away to help you ease the pain, and get relevant information on how to treat the pain plus information on how you should prevent it from happening again.
It is preventable and can be prevented if you are careful with what you consume and thoroughly look after your teeth. Below are few tips to help you avoid or even prevent yourself from tooth ache:
- Brush your teeth regularly with toothpaste and rinse your mouth every morning.
- Visit your nearest dentist and do check-ups twice in a year
- Decrease the level of sugar intakes and maintain a well-balanced nutrition every day. For children, avoid or control their intake of sweets
- Stop or control use and consumption of smoking and alcohol
These few simple tips will help you prevent toothache from affecting you.
