Eating a handful of nuts or crunching ice cubes and hard sweets should be an easy task but can usually cause a sharp sudden pain. This is often a sign of an underlying problem. Despite being the strongest part of our bodies, our teeth can be damaged by large biting forces.

Knowing why your tooth hurts after biting hard food will help you identify potential problems early on. This means you can get help from your dentist early on to keep your natural smile intact, reduce pain and avoid deep infections.

What Causes Pressure On Teeth?

Whilst we are eating, lots of pressure is placed onto our teeth. Our powerful jaw muscles can put hundreds of pounds of pressure onto our small teeth. If our teeth are healthy, with healthy enamel and ligament fibers at the root, our teeth can cope with this pressure.

How Does Periodontal Ligament Pressure Cause Tooth Pain?

– Very fine fibers attach our teeth to the surrounding jaw bone. If we bite down onto hard objects, pressure is applied onto these delicate fibers causing pain.

Can Enamel Strain Cause Sharp Tooth Pain?

– When we bite onto hard foods our enamel is forced to bend. Our teeth will have micro strain due to the immense pressure causing sharp sudden pain.

How Does Fluid Movement In The Dentine Cause Tooth Pain?

– Within the dentine layer there are tiny tubes with fluid passing through them. When pressure is applied suddenly, the fluid causes our nerve endings to become stimulated.

Can Cracked Tooth Syndrome Cause Pain When Eating Hard Food?

Often times there may be a microscopic crack in our tooth. This is called cracked tooth syndrome by dentists.

Why Does Bending Cause Sharp Pain In a Cracked Tooth?

– When we bite down onto something, our small pieces of the cracked tooth bend causing tension onto the inner nerve ending.

Why Does Releasing Biting Pressure Cause Sudden Pain?

– Often the sharp sudden pain will occur when releasing our biting pressure.

Can Temperature Changes Cause Sensitivity In Cracked Teeth?

– The micro cracks allow cold drinks or hot liquids to enter our sensitive inner pulp area.

Can Inflammation Of Nerves In The Pulp Cause Tooth Pain?

Inside every healthy tooth there is a soft area called the dental pulp. This is where our key blood vessels and sensitive nerve endings are. Large pressure can cause an irritated nerve.

What Is Reversible Pulpitis?

– If our inner nerves are mildly irritated it can cause short-lived pain. This can easily be treated by your dentist.

What Is Irreversible Pulpitis?

– If our nerve has been severely damaged it can cause a throbbing pain after eating. The nerve cannot repair itself so it needs attention.

Can Nerve Death Cause Constant Tooth Pain?

– If left untreated, our nerve will die within the root canal. This can cause dark discoloration and constant pressure onto our deep bone.

Can Enamel Erosion And Dentin Exposure Cause Tooth Pain?

Our enamel is a strong protective layer. Over time acidic foods, harsh brushing and night grinding can cause our enamel to erode.

Why Does Exposed Dentin Cause Tooth Sensitivity?

– If we lose our enamel, our dentin is exposed. This is a softer layer which contains thousands of tiny fluid filled tubes leading to our main nerve.

Can Direct Pressure On Exposed Dentin Cause Pain?

– When we bite onto hard objects, pressure is directly applied to our exposed dentin causing sharp pain.

Why Does Exposed Dentin Erode Faster?

– Our exposed dentin will erode far quicker than our hard enamel. This creates deep grooves throughout our high pressured chewing areas.

Can High Fillings And Damaged Restorations Cause Tooth Pain?

Old fillings, crowns and composites will not last forever. Hard foods can cause our old fillings to move or break.

Can a High Spot In a Filling Cause Tooth Pain?

– New or moved fillings will create a high spot causing all pressure from chewing to be applied here, causing bruising to our root ligaments.

Can Leakage Under Old Fillings Cause Tooth Pain?

– Bacteria will start to leak underneath our old loose fillings. The cracking of hard foods will cause our bacteria to push deep acids directly onto our sensitive dentin.

Can Fractured Restorations Cause Tooth Pain?

– Biting onto hard objects can cause our silver amalgams or tooth colored composites to crack exposing our raw inner tooth.

Can Gum Recession And Ligament Pressure Cause Tooth Pain?

Our gums act as a protective gasket to our teeth. Over time our gums can start to recede exposing our sensitive root.

Why Do Exposed Roots Cause Tooth Pain?

– Our roots do not have a thick enamel covering. Direct pressure can cause us pain.

Can Periodontal Pockets Cause Localized Pressure?

– Deep pockets form between our teeth and gums causing localized pressure and swelling.

Can Bruised Ligament Fibers Cause Sharp Tooth Pain?

– If we bite down onto a loose tooth we will put pressure onto our inflamed ligaments causing sharp pain similar to a deep bone injury.

How Will My Dentist Diagnose My Pain When Chewing?

Your dentist will use evidence based techniques to identify why your tooth is hurting. This will help to identify small cracks early.

How Are Bite Sticks Used To Diagnose Tooth Pain?

– Special plastic bite sticks will be used to apply pressure onto each cusp of our teeth to identify any hidden cracks.

Can X-Rays Identify the Cause of Tooth Pain?

– Digital x-rays can show us any hidden decay underneath old fillings, bone loss and deep infection at the tip of our root.

How Does Transilluminators Detect Tooth Cracks?

– Bright fiber optic lights will be shone through our dense tooth to show us any micro cracks.

Why Is Cold Testing Used To Check Tooth Nerves?

– Cold swabs will be applied to test our pulp. This will tell us if our nerve is still alive and healthy.

What Are the Modern Dental Treatments For Biting Pain?

Treatment will depend on the cause of your pain. Modern dentistry aims to preserve your natural teeth.

Can Porcelain Crowns Treat Cracked Teeth?

– A porcelain crown will be fitted to cover our cracked tooth. This will hold our tooth together to eliminate any pain.

When Is a Root Canal Needed?

– Any infected or dead pulp will be removed to eliminate our severe internal inflammation.

Can Polishing a Bite Spot Relieve Tooth Pain?

– Any high spots on our fillings will be polished to even out the pressure from chewing.

Can Desensitizing Products Reduce Tooth Sensitivity?

– Fluoride varnishes and dentin sealers will be applied to block our micro-tubules. This will help relieve our mild nerve sensitivity.

What Can You Do At Home To Relieve Tooth Pain?

If you are experiencing any tooth pain you should visit your dentist. However some safe evidence based techniques can help protect your tooth.

Which Soft Foods Can Help Reduce Tooth Pain?

– Eat soft foods such as yogurt, smoothies, cooked vegetables and soups to let your bruised ligaments rest.

Why Should You Avoid Extreme Temperatures?

– Drink lukewarm drinks to avoid sharp temperature changes causing pain.

Can a Salt Water Rinse Help Reduce Tooth Pain?

– Gently rinse your gums with warm salt water to help reduce inflammation.

Can Painkillers Help Relieve Tooth Pain?

– Painkillers can help temporarily reduce any swelling and pain.

When Is Tooth Pain a Serious Emergency?

If we ignore our biting pain, our small cracks can become severe and un-repairable. Look out for these symptoms:

What Does Constant Throbbing Pain Indicate?

– Constant pain that isn’t caused by chewing shows our nerve is severely damaged.

Can Swelling Indicate a Spreading Tooth Infection?

– If your cheek, jaw or gums are swollen it shows our infection is spreading.

Does Pus Indicate a Dental Abscess?

– A small pimple on your gums that is leaking a nasty tasting liquid shows we have an abscess at the tip of our roots.

Can Fever Be a Sign of a Serious Dental Infection?

– If you are experiencing any systemic symptoms with severe tooth pain we need to seek urgent treatment.

How Can You Avoid Future Tooth Pain?

  • Don’t chew on non-food items such as ice cubes, pens, hard sweets, un-popped popcorn and hard nutshells.

  • Wear a night guard if you suffer from grinding or clenching your teeth at night. This will protect our enamel from large pressures.

  • Visit your dentist every 6 months for regular check-ups.

  • Brush your teeth daily with a soft bristle brush and fluoride toothpaste to strengthen our enamel and prevent gum recession.

  • Treat any mild biting pain to prevent our tooth from splitting due to simple hairline cracks.

Whatever the cause of your tooth pain after crunching hard foods it is important to seek help. Whether it is due to bruised ligaments, eroded enamel or a structural crack, visiting your dentist will help us keep your tooth and keep your smile healthy.