A toothache is generally a sign of an underlying problem in the tooth. The occurrence of toothache shows that the problem is causing some other issues. A few reasons for toothache are:

- Tooth decay

- Fracture in the tooth

- Damaged filling

- Infected gums

There are a few signs that you may have a toothache. The reason why signs are worth mentioning is that many people get confused if the pain comes from the tooth or any other area of the mouth. Knowing about the signs can help you know whether or not the pain is due to infected tooth. Below mentioned are a few signs that you may have toothache.

- The pain in the tooth can be sharp, consistent or throbbing. In most of the cases, pain occurs when pressure is applied to the affected tooth.

- Swelling around the tooth

- Headache and/or fever

- Foul taste generating from the affected tooth

You need to see your dentist as soon as possible. Generally, there are a few scenarios you can keep in mind before deciding about going to the dentist.

- You are suffering from the toothache for more than 2 days.

- The toothache is severe.

- Toothache is causing fever, earache, and/or pain when you open your mouth wide.

Since the underlying cause of toothache may be an infection, it is very important to get its treatment on timely basis in order to avoid its spread to other systems and bloodstream.

When you go to the dentist, the first thing you will go through is a dental exam. Your medical history will also be analyzed so that your case could be properly studied. The dentist will ask a number of questions about pain, its severity, location, things that trigger the pain, times when pain worsens, and things that provide relief from the pain. Certain areas of your mouth such as your teeth, gums, throat, sinus, neck, ear and nose will also be analyzed. The dentist will also get x-rays test your teeth to properly analyze what causes the pain.

The treatment of toothache depends upon the cause of toothache. If the cause of toothache is a cavity, the ideal solution is the filling of your tooth. The dentist will clean the cavity and fill it with appropriate material. In certain severe cases, dentist may decide to extract your tooth. If infection has reached the nerves of the tooth, the dentist may suggest a root canal treatment. This treatment mainly involves removal of infected nerves and filling of the tooth with other materials. There are many infections which can be treated with medications. In such situations, you will be given antibiotics medications.

One thing that is worth mentioning here is that prevention is always better than cure. For ideal prevention, you have to make sure that you take care of your dental hygiene on daily basis. Make sure that you brush and floss your teeth on daily basis. Furthermore, you need to put a limit on the consumption of sugars if you want to avoid toothache.

Apart from everything you do at home, you will need to visit your dentist after every 6 months. These dental visits are going to help you in ensuring better preventative dental care.