Tooth Pain in Lawrenceville, NJ

A crack, gum disease, a loose filling, clenching or grinding, an impacted wisdom tooth or sinus pressure. If grinding is the cause, a custom nightguard protects your teeth while you sleep.

Pain that comes and goes still has a cause: often a crack that flexes when you bite, a nerve that’s starting to become inflamed, or decay under a filling. Book a visit before it becomes constant.

Pain from food stuck between teeth can ease once the area is clean. Pain that lingers, keeps coming back or throbs points to decay, a crack or an infection, and those don’t heal on their own. Less pain doesn’t mean the problem is gone.

No. Antibiotics don’t remove decay, close a crack or clean out an infected nerve. The cause is treated with a filling, a root canal or an extraction.

Rarely, yes. Jaw or tooth pain that comes with chest pressure, shortness of breath, nausea, a cold sweat or pain spreading to the arm is a medical emergency. Call 911.

A cold compress on the outside of your cheek, 20 minutes on and 20 off. Skip heat on a swollen face, and don’t hold ice directly on the tooth.

A small bump that oozes or comes and goes is usually a drainage point for an infection at the root. Even if the pain eases when it drains, the infection is still there. See tooth abscess treatment.

Don’t put any pill, powder or pain medicine directly on the tooth or gum. It burns the gum and doesn’t reach the cause.

No. Only if the nerve is inflamed or infected; a cavity that hasn’t reached the nerve gets a filling. When a root canal is needed, it’s done in-house, and an emergency root canal is done the same day.

Most often a cavity that has reached the nerve, a cracked tooth, an abscess, a lost or failing filling, gum disease or an impacted wisdom tooth. Grinding, sinus pressure and jaw-joint problems can feel like a toothache too. An exam and digital x-rays find the real source.

No. Once a cavity hurts, the decay has usually passed the enamel into the softer dentin, and only a filling, crown or root canal stops it. Only the earliest white-spot changes, before a hole forms, can be strengthened with professional fluoride.

Only if it can’t be saved. When an extraction is the right call, Dr. Godko can do it at the same visit, and the replacement is planned before you leave. See emergency tooth extraction.

It deserves a prompt visit: a new crack, decay at the edge of the crown or a lingering infection can all cause it, and x-rays show which.

You’re seen the same day you call, and the diagnosis, pain relief and the start of treatment happen in that visit. If a crown is needed afterward, the follow-up is planned before you leave.

Soft, lukewarm foods such as yogurt, eggs, soup and mashed potatoes, chewed on the other side. Skip very hot or cold food and drinks, sugary and acidic foods, and anything hard, crunchy or chewy until the tooth is treated.

Keep your head raised on an extra pillow, use a cold compress on your cheek before bed and rinse gently with warm salt water to clear food. If the pain wakes you, call first thing to be seen that day.

White chalky spots, new brown or dark spots, a rough pit on a chewing surface, or a brief twinge with cold or sweets. Many early cavities cause no pain at all and show up only on an exam and x-rays.

Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, clean between your teeth daily, cut back on sugary snacks and drinks, wear a night guard if you grind, and keep your checkups so decay is caught while it’s small.

Yes. Nitrous oxide, oral sedation and IV sedation are available, given by Dr. Godko himself. With oral or IV sedation, someone drives you home.

The tooth is fully numbed with a local anesthetic before treatment starts, so most patients feel pressure rather than pain, and sedation is available if you’re anxious.

Yes. 0% financing through Cherry is available.

Yes: book online anytime at www.deluxedentistry.com/schedule-appointment. You can also call (609) 400-1393 or (609) 303-2005 during office hours.