11 Reasons Why Your Tooth Hurts When You Bite Down

Simply put, your tooth shouldn’t hurt when you bite down. If you’re experiencing tooth pain when you chew or whenever pressure is applied, then you should contact your dentist at Bloor West Smiles immediately. You should never ignore a toothache.

If biting or chewing causes tooth pain, it’s likely due to one of the reasons listed below. When you visit our dental care clinic, we’ll be able to diagnose the problem and offer quality care.

1. Cavity

If your tooth hurts when you bite down, there’s a good chance that you have a cavity. Cavities are tooth decay wherein a small hole appears in your tooth. They cause sensitivity, mild-to-sharp pain when eating or drinking, and spontaneous pain. Food can even get stuck in large cavities. Many people become sensitive to sweets when they have a cavity.

2. Tooth sensitivity

Worn-down enamel can cause tooth sensitivity, which could cause your tooth to hurt when you bite down. When the enamel gets too thin or wears away entirely, the nerves inside your tooth are unprotected. As a result, you experience pain when hot, cold, or overly acidic foods hit the nerve centre.

3. Cracked or fractured tooth

Minor cracks and hairline fractures cause few obvious symptoms, except for tooth pain when you bite down. These types of dental injuries are almost impossible to spot with the naked eye and are often undetectable on X-rays. You’ll require special diagnosis and testing from a trusted Toronto dental care clinic, like Bloor West Smiles.

4. Loose tooth

When you bite down on a loose tooth, the tiny ligaments are stretched and pulled. This causes pain, discomfort, and soreness. Unless you’re a child losing your primary teeth, your tooth shouldn’t be loose.

A loose tooth often points to something serious, like gum disease. Conversely, it could result from a sports injury or car incident that has damaged the tooth, causing it to become loose.

5. Loose filling

Your tooth may not be loose, but it’s possible that your filling is. Over time, some fillings start to leak or pull away from the tooth as they age. Every time you bite down on that tooth, the filling moves ever so slightly. This leads to discomfort and tooth pain. You may not be able to see the gap around the filling (called an “open margin”); however, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

6. Gum disease

A common symptom of gum disease, also called periodontal disease, is tooth pain. Gum disease destroys the ligaments that attach the roots of your teeth to your gums. As the infection worsens, your gums recede, exposing the sensitive tooth roots, and begin to swell and bleed severely. In these cases, the pressure of biting down is particularly painful.

7. Dental abscess

A dental abscess is when a pocket of pus forms around the gums or root of an infected tooth. They can occur because of tooth damage (like a crack, fracture, or deep cavity), periodontal disease, or an untreated bacterial infection in your gums.

In such cases, bacteria enter the tooth and surrounding tissue and an abscess forms. This is a severe oral health condition that requires urgent dental care.