Hello, I have noticed feeling pain when I touch the bottom of my tooth, where the gum and base of the tooth meet.  If I touch the gum or the actual tooth where it first comes out of gum its highly unpleasant, but the tooth is even more so I almost want to jump out of my skin when I touch the outside of the tooth with my nail.   Also the gum surrounding that particular tooth is white.   What can this be?   I am scared lifeless of a root canal ( even though i have never had one), please help!

ANSWER:

It sounds like you have some exposed tooth root which can be very sensitive to touch and to cold. The white around the gum is probably from over aggressive brushing. You probably do not need a root canal, but you should go see a periodontist as they may be able to apply some medicine to the area to make it less sensitive or may even be able to cover the exposed part of the root with new gum tissue which will solve the sensitivity you are having. For now try to avoid acidic foods and drinks in your diet as the will make the tooth more sensitive. I can try to find you a periodontist in NYC or Brooklyn If you like.

Hope this helps,
Nick DeTure DMD
askadentist.com

The post Pain at Bottom of Tooth first appeared on Ask A Dentist.

About three days ago I started to have pain in a tooth that has had a root canal and a cap.  I started taking my boyfriends antibiotic.  Last night it suddenly started to bleed, I pushed a little on the gum line, rinsed,and went to bed. Today it is a lot better.What do you think was the problem?

ANSWER

Most likely the cause of your pain and bleeding is a recurrent infection in the root canal treated tooth. This can be due to one of several things: Decay around or under the cap, a crack in the root of the tooth, or incomplete or inadequate root canal therapy. The fact that is is feeling better after a few dats of antibiotics and some blleding is not unusual, however it does not mean the problem is fixed. You need to see a dentist sooon because the infection will come back and when it does it will be harder to treat. Also it is not a good idea to take antibiotics that have not been prescribed to you as you could have a bad reaction to them or they could cause you to develope bacterial resistance so that antibiotics are not affective against the infection in the future. Likewise if you boyfriends antibiotics were leftover because stopped taking them when whatever he was taking them for resolved it is likely that he may be promoting bacterial resistance in his system. You need to take medications as they are prescribed and complete the course of antibiotics when they are given. I have friends in Southfield, MI and Port Huron MI please feel free to contact them to have your tooth evaluated. Dr. Nemeth is in Southfield, His number is 248-357-3100. Dr. Setter is in Port Huron. his number is 810-987-1400. Both of these dentist are periodontist which means they are experts in diagnosing and treating infections around the teeth and can tell you if the infection is due to a bad root canal or a gum infection and how to fix the problem.

Hope this helps,
Nick DeTure DMD
askadentist.com

The post Tooth Pain first appeared on Ask A Dentist.