wired.com— When it comes to a toothache, the brain doesn't discriminate. A new imaging study shows that to the brain, a painful upper tooth feels a lot like a painful lower tooth.
Apr 16, 2010View in Crawl 4
so why you wanna know which one hurts? hurt is hurt, no matter which one, first one or second one, it still is your tooth.it is dentist's business to know which one hurts and deal with it, not yours buddy.try to care about all of them.
This is all very interesting, but I think I know how this study could have been done even more effectively, without a multimillion dollar MRI scanner. Just zap an upper or lower tooth, as they did, and ask the subject if he or she can tell which tooth is hurting.
Uh that's awful. I find that there are a lot of dentists running extremely shady practices like you described. I went to one when I was young. I felt a cavity in my (baby) molar with my tongue. Saw it in the mirror, felt pain in the mouth area. It was a pretty obvious cavity. I showed my mom she said oh yeah that's a cavity and made an appointment to get it filled and to get a checkup and cleaning a few days before. Well at the checkup he looked at it and claimed it wasn't a cavity, it was probably just the adult molar coming in. That doesn't even make any sense! But I was like 7 and he went to dental school (apparently) so I said ok and dealt with the pain for another year. A year later he's said "well looks like you have a big cavity in your molar" and he filled it. I seriously wanted to punch him in the face.
I can say from experience that this is 100% true, tooth pain does easily spread and migrate, and it can be difficult to figure out exactly where it's coming from.I got a really sore tooth right this very minute. X-rays have told me exactly which tooth it is that's actually hurting, my lower left molar all the way to the back (Wisdom tooth is impacted and grinding into it). But, the pain from that one tooth is spreading out, so it feels like some of my upper teeth are hurting, and it's also making my ear hurt as well. Had I not had the x-rays at the dentist this week, I would have though some of my upper teeth were bad too since they're hurting a lot. But, it's just that one tooth which is actually bad, the rest are fine.Pain sure can do crazy things.
i had a pain that presented as an upper molar, a lower molar, a generalized ache in the side from the centerline to the back of the jaw, and all these in combination.i went to the dentist and he found nothing wrong so i went to the doctor (thinking it was a sinus infection) and he found nothing wrong.about a week later i put on headphones and had an exquisite pain. turns out i had a t.m.j. inflammation, so that's always something else to consider.
I do have 1-2 cavities at the moment. I don't know what you'd consider them, but at least 2-3 teeth have tiny holes in them. So far, the holes haven't grown or anything, but I haven't been able to go to the dentist yet. Hopefully when I do, they will fill it up or something. Luckily, no pains at all.
Closed AccountApr 17, 2010
so why you wanna know which one hurts? hurt is hurt, no matter which one, first one or second one, it still is your tooth.it is dentist's business to know which one hurts and deal with it, not yours buddy.try to care about all of them.
idiggaponyApr 17, 2010
This is all very interesting, but I think I know how this study could have been done even more effectively, without a multimillion dollar MRI scanner. Just zap an upper or lower tooth, as they did, and ask the subject if he or she can tell which tooth is hurting.
sibtigerApr 17, 2010
Why was your dentist examining your teeth while you were flying to California?
Closed AccountApr 17, 2010
Uh that's awful. I find that there are a lot of dentists running extremely shady practices like you described. I went to one when I was young. I felt a cavity in my (baby) molar with my tongue. Saw it in the mirror, felt pain in the mouth area. It was a pretty obvious cavity. I showed my mom she said oh yeah that's a cavity and made an appointment to get it filled and to get a checkup and cleaning a few days before. Well at the checkup he looked at it and claimed it wasn't a cavity, it was probably just the adult molar coming in. That doesn't even make any sense! But I was like 7 and he went to dental school (apparently) so I said ok and dealt with the pain for another year. A year later he's said "well looks like you have a big cavity in your molar" and he filled it. I seriously wanted to punch him in the face.
torindkfltApr 17, 2010
I can say from experience that this is 100% true, tooth pain does easily spread and migrate, and it can be difficult to figure out exactly where it's coming from.I got a really sore tooth right this very minute. X-rays have told me exactly which tooth it is that's actually hurting, my lower left molar all the way to the back (Wisdom tooth is impacted and grinding into it). But, the pain from that one tooth is spreading out, so it feels like some of my upper teeth are hurting, and it's also making my ear hurt as well. Had I not had the x-rays at the dentist this week, I would have though some of my upper teeth were bad too since they're hurting a lot. But, it's just that one tooth which is actually bad, the rest are fine.Pain sure can do crazy things.
mrgreenjeansApr 17, 2010
Why such sensitive nerves in teeth in the first place? That is some of the worst pain.
protoopusApr 17, 2010
i had a pain that presented as an upper molar, a lower molar, a generalized ache in the side from the centerline to the back of the jaw, and all these in combination.i went to the dentist and he found nothing wrong so i went to the doctor (thinking it was a sinus infection) and he found nothing wrong.about a week later i put on headphones and had an exquisite pain. turns out i had a t.m.j. inflammation, so that's always something else to consider.
executexApr 17, 2010Submitter
I do have 1-2 cavities at the moment. I don't know what you'd consider them, but at least 2-3 teeth have tiny holes in them. So far, the holes haven't grown or anything, but I haven't been able to go to the dentist yet. Hopefully when I do, they will fill it up or something. Luckily, no pains at all.