It’s easy to ignore pain when it isn’t overwhelming. Most people have a tendency to define pain in different ways. Some people would rate an incredible amount of pain in their legs, for example, at 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 or somebody else may report it as a 10.
When you have pain in your teeth or under your gums, it can certainly be annoying, but it’s not likely to interfere with many of the things you have going on throughout the day. You might take a few aspirin and try to ignore it. It’s far too easy to ignore pain in your teeth when it is considered relatively mild, but pain is usually your body’s way of telling your mind that something is not quite right and should be addressed as soon as possible.
The pain you feel in your teeth could be related to the earliest stages of gum disease, a cavity, a crack in the tooth, or something else. If you continue to ignore that pain and don’t visit a dentist as soon as possible, it could lead to far greater problems in the future.
For example, you might have a small cavity that has bored a hole deeper into your tooth and is now exposing the nerve. You may begin chewing on the other side of your mouth try to avoid the pain flaring up, but the cavity is only going to grow more severe. By exposing the root of the tooth, you are also allowing bacteria and germs to get down into that portion of the tooth and that can lead straight to the circulatory system.
Research studies have indicated that bacteria that get into inflamed or swollen gums can reach the heart and cause certain heart diseases. So when you feel pain in your mouth, call your dentist right away, make an appointment, and follow through.