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Answers to your dental questions.

^TOOTHACHE

How do I get a toothache to go away?

Does it hurt when you bite down?

If your tooth was aching from drinking something cold but the pain has gone away until you bite down, there is a good chance the nerve (pulp) of the tooth became damaged and has died. The infection that killed the nerve is now possibly spreading into the bone around the tooth so when you bite down you’re pressing down into that infection and it’s causing pain.

If the tooth has never hurt before and all of sudden pain on biting occurs, there is a chance the tooth is cracked or fractured. Typically back molars with large silver fillings can undergo cracks and fractures due to large silver restorations (fillings) with thin surrounding enamel. If you are experiencing either issues, contact your dentist to get accurately diagnosed, and treated.