Tooth pain is hard to ignore and hard to sleep through. It also tends to escalate rather than settle, which is why waiting it out so rarely works.
If you are in pain right now, call (330) 492-7889. We are open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Wednesday from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Tell whoever answers where the pain is, how bad it is, and how long it has been going. We will get you in as soon as we can.
Here is the thing about a toothache: it is a symptom, not a diagnosis. A cavity, a cracked tooth, an infection, exposed gum, a failing filling, and a sinus problem can all produce pain that feels similar to you. They need entirely different treatment. So the first job is finding out which one it actually is.
This page is part of our emergency dental care.
Go to an Emergency Room Instead If
Before anything else. Some situations need a hospital, not a dental office:
- Swelling in your face, jaw, or neck that is making it hard to breathe or swallow.
- A fever along with severe mouth pain and facial swelling. That can mean a spreading infection.
- Bleeding from the mouth that will not stop with steady pressure.
- A blow to the head, or a jaw you cannot open or close properly.
Do not wait for a dental appointment for any of those. A spreading dental infection is a medical emergency, and it moves faster than an appointment schedule.
What Is Causing Your Tooth Pain?
Different causes produce different kinds of pain, and what you are feeling is genuinely useful information. Some of the common ones:
A cavity. Usually sensitivity to sweet, cold, or hot things at first, then an ache. The pain comes and goes early on and becomes more constant as the decay gets deeper. Treated with a filling if caught in time.
Decay that has reached the nerve. Now it throbs, wakes you at night, and lingers well after the trigger is gone. Sometimes cold actually relieves it, which is a telling sign. This is the situation that needs a root canal, and we do not perform root canals here. We will diagnose it, get you comfortable, and refer you.
An abscess. A collection of infection at the root. Constant severe pain, the tooth may feel raised or tender to touch, and there may be swelling or a bad taste. Needs treating promptly.
A cracked tooth. Sharp pain when you bite down, or on release, and often nothing wrong to look at. Cracks can be very hard to find, and X-rays do not always show them.
A failing or lost filling. Exposes the tooth underneath, which is sensitive to temperature and to pressure.
Gum problems. Aching, tender, or bleeding gums around a tooth, or pain from a deep pocket. See periodontal care.
Exposed root surface, from gum recession. Sharp sensitivity to cold on a specific spot near the gumline.
Grinding or clenching. A dull ache across several teeth, often worse in the morning, sometimes with jaw soreness and headache.
Something wedged between teeth. Genuinely painful and often fixed in a minute.
Wisdom teeth pushing through. Pain and swelling at the back of the jaw. We do not remove wisdom teeth, so we would examine you, image it, and refer you to an oral surgeon.
A sinus problem. Upper back teeth can ache from sinus pressure, usually several teeth at once rather than one, often with congestion. Not a dental problem at all, and worth ruling out.
How We Find and Treat the Cause
- You tell us the story. Where it hurts, what kind of pain, what triggers it, how long, whether it wakes you, whether anything relieves it. This narrows it down more than people expect.
- We examine the area, looking at the tooth, the teeth around it, and your gums.
- We test the tooth, which can include tapping it, checking response to cold, and checking your bite, to work out which tooth and which tissue is involved.
- We take X-rays, which show decay, bone loss, and infection at a root tip.
- We tell you what we found, in plain language, and what it will take to fix it.
- We treat it if we can, that day where possible. A filling, cleaning out and treating an infected area, smoothing a sharp edge, removing something wedged, or an extraction if the tooth cannot be saved.
- We get you comfortable regardless. Even when the definitive treatment happens later or elsewhere, relieving your pain is part of the visit.
- We refer when we should. Root canals and wisdom teeth go to providers who do that work, and we help you get the appointment made rather than handing you a phone number.
What to Do Before Your Appointment
Not treatment, just what genuinely helps in the meantime:
- Over-the-counter pain relief, taken as directed on the package. Follow the label and your own medical situation.
- A cold compress against the outside of your cheek, 15 minutes on and 15 off, particularly if there is swelling.
- Rinse gently with warm salt water, which helps with irritated gum tissue.
- Floss carefully around the tooth in case something is wedged there.
- Keep your head elevated when lying down. Pain often worsens flat because of blood pressure in the area.
- Avoid extremes, very hot, very cold, very sweet, and very hard food on that side.
- Do not put aspirin directly on the gum. It burns the tissue and does not help the tooth.
- Do not apply heat to a swollen area. Heat can encourage infection to spread.
- Do not ignore it because it stopped. Pain that suddenly disappears sometimes means the nerve has died, and the infection continues without a warning signal.
Your Options for Treating a Painful Tooth
Treatment follows the cause, so this is really a list of where diagnosis leads.
A filling, for a cavity that has not reached the nerve. Usually one visit and the pain resolves as the tooth is sealed.
A crown, if the tooth is cracked or too broken down for a filling. That means a lab and two visits, since same-day crowns are not something we offer.
Referral for a root canal, when the nerve is involved. We do not provide root canals here. We will diagnose it, relieve your pain, and refer you to a provider who does. Then you can come back to us for the crown afterward. We would rather you read this now than hear it in the chair.
Treating an infection, which can involve draining the area and treating it, and sometimes an antibiotic where appropriate. Whether antibiotics are used is a clinical decision made after an exam, not something promised in advance.
Extraction, when the tooth cannot be saved or when you weigh a referral against removal and choose removal. That is a legitimate decision and we will lay out both honestly, including cost.
Periodontal care, when the pain is coming from your gums rather than the tooth.
A night guard or bite adjustment, if grinding is the cause. Whether this practice provides night guards has not been confirmed yet.
Nothing dental, if it turns out to be sinus related. We will tell you that and point you toward your physician rather than treating a tooth that is fine.
The Benefits of Getting Seen Quickly
Pain stops sooner, which is the obvious one and the one that matters most at 2 AM.
More of the tooth gets saved. This is the part that has lasting consequences. Decay caught before it reaches the nerve is a filling. Once the nerve is involved it becomes a root canal, which for you means a referral to another provider and their fee, or removal. The window between those two outcomes is often weeks.
Infection gets contained. A dental infection does not stay put. It spreads into the bone and surrounding tissue, and at that point it stops being a dental inconvenience and becomes a health problem.
And you find out what it actually is. A cracked tooth, a sinus issue, and a dying nerve can feel similar and need completely different responses. Guessing at home tends to mean treating the wrong thing.
How to Know Your Tooth Pain Needs Attention Now
Call today for these:
- Severe pain, or pain that is waking you up at night
- Throbbing that does not settle with over-the-counter pain relief
- Swelling around a tooth or on your gum
- A bad taste, or pus
- Pain that lingers well after eating or drinking something cold
- A tooth that hurts to bite on
- A tooth that has become noticeably darker
- Pain that has been building over several days rather than easing
Get seen soon, but it can be scheduled:
- Mild sensitivity to cold that passes quickly
- Occasional twinges that come and go
- A rough or chipped edge that is not painful
- Sensitivity at the gumline on one tooth
- A dull ache across several teeth, worse in the morning
Go to an emergency room now for facial swelling affecting breathing or swallowing, fever with severe pain and swelling, bleeding that will not stop, or a head injury.
What waiting actually costs. With tooth pain this is unusually concrete. Pain almost always means something has progressed. A cavity that is only sensitive is at the filling stage. Give it a few weeks or months and it reaches the nerve, at which point the options are a root canal, which means a referral and another provider’s fee, or extraction, which means paying to replace the tooth later. If infection sets in and spreads to the bone, you may lose bone you would want for an implant, which means grafting on top of everything else. And the pain itself gets worse in the meantime. Every route through this gets more expensive with time, and none of them get better on their own.
One dangerous exception worth naming. If tooth pain stops suddenly on its own, that is not always good news. It can mean the nerve inside has died. The pain signal goes away while the infection quietly continues, and people relax exactly when they should not. If a tooth hurt badly and then stopped, still get it looked at.
What we see that you cannot. Which tooth is actually the problem, because pain refers along the jaw and patients point at the wrong tooth regularly. Whether the nerve is still alive, which determines whether a filling will work. Whether infection has reached the bone. Whether there is a crack, and how far it goes. And whether it is a tooth at all, or a sinus, or a jaw joint, or grinding.
Questions worth asking yourself. How long has this been going on? Is it getting worse? Does it wake me up? Is there swelling? Does cold make it better rather than worse? Have I been taking pain relief for more than a couple of days? Any of those pointing the wrong way means calling rather than waiting.
What Does Treating a Toothache Cost?
The visit to diagnose the pain is one cost, and the treatment is another, and what the treatment costs depends entirely on what we find. A filling, an extraction, a crown, and a referral are all different numbers.
We will tell you what we found and what it costs before treating anything beyond making you comfortable. Emergency visits often come at bad financial moments and being surprised by a bill makes that worse, so we do not do that.
We go over your dental benefits and your coverage before treatment. We take cash, check, and credit cards, and we offer CareCredit financing, which helps when an urgent problem turns out to need larger work.
Insurance carriers accepted have not been confirmed for this practice yet, so no plan or coverage level is named here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you see me today?
Call and tell us what is happening. We will get you in as soon as we can. We are open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Wednesday 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and closed Friday through Sunday.
What if my tooth starts hurting on a Friday or over the weekend?
We are closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Call and follow the instructions on the message so we can see you as soon as we open, and use the before-your-appointment steps above in the meantime. If you develop facial swelling that affects breathing or swallowing, or a fever with severe pain, go to an emergency room rather than waiting for Monday.
Will you just pull the tooth?
Not unless it cannot be saved or you decide that is what you want. Saving a tooth is nearly always the better outcome, and we will tell you honestly whether yours can be saved and what that involves.
Do you do root canals?
No. If your pain is coming from the nerve and needs a root canal, we will diagnose it, get you comfortable, and refer you to a provider who does that treatment. You can come back to us for the crown afterward.
Will you give me antibiotics?
That is a clinical decision made after examining you, and antibiotics are not the right answer for most toothaches. Many need the actual cause treated instead. We will explain what your situation calls for.
My tooth stopped hurting. Am I fine now?
Not necessarily, and this is worth taking seriously. Pain stopping suddenly can mean the nerve has died while the infection continues. Get it looked at.
Why does my tooth hurt more at night?
Lying flat increases blood pressure in your head, which increases pressure inside an inflamed tooth. Propping your head up higher usually helps a little.
Can a sinus infection feel like a toothache?
Yes, particularly in upper back teeth. Sinus pain usually affects several teeth at once and comes with congestion, while a tooth problem is usually one specific tooth. We can tell the difference, which saves you being treated for the wrong thing.
I have swelling. Is that urgent?
Swelling means infection and it should be seen promptly. If the swelling is in your face or neck and is affecting your breathing or swallowing, go to an emergency room immediately rather than calling us.
Related Services
Tooth pain usually leads to one of these:
- Dental fillings treat the cavity behind most toothaches.
- Tooth extractions are the answer when a tooth cannot be saved.
- Periodontal care treats pain coming from your gums.
- Dental trauma and injuries covers pain after an accident or impact.
- Digital X-rays are how we find what is causing it.
- Dental implants and bridges replace a tooth that had to come out.
Get Your Tooth Pain Looked At in North Canton
Tooth pain does not resolve itself, and it gets more expensive the longer it runs. Call (330) 492-7889 during office hours and tell us what is going on, or request an appointment online.
