Diseases Known to be Caused by the Diet
Stephen Seely, David L. J. Freed, Gerald A. Silverstone, Vicky Rippere in Diet-Related Diseases, 1985
But the discovery of the link with sugar came originally not from epidemiology but from experiment. The American W.D. Miller, in 1883, began experiments on healthy teeth in the test tube, and observed that typical caries was produced if certain oral bacteria were added, but only in the presence of sugar or bread. In experimental animals, caries is produced when they are fed on a high-sugar diet but not when they are reared in a germ-free environment. So the bacteria are necessary for caries. On the other hand, these organisms are always present in the healthy human mouth to some extent, and cause no damage or trouble unless sugar is consumed. So both factors are critical. Sugar – especially sucrose (cane or beet sugar) — causes the bacteria to multiply abnormally and produce excessive amounts of acid and of a complex carbohydrate slime. The acid can be sufficient to reduce the pH of the mouth from neutral to below 5 within seconds, and the slime ensures that the acid remains for as much as an hour at that level. At this degree of acidity the hard enamel of the teeth begins to dissolve. Eventually the enamel gives way, and bacteria flood into the tooth pulp, there to set up infection, inflammation, and thus toothache, abscesses etc.
What Promotes Joy
Eve Shapiro in Joy in Medicine?, 2020
When I was living with Aamaa and Malika and Bishnu during those first two months in 2002, people used to come by our house with all kinds of issues and questions. And among the most common problems was toothache. It would usually be someone asking for medicine during an acute pain episode. If you’ve ever had a serious toothache, you know I’m talking about discomfort that can be severe to overwhelming pain that interferes with sleeping, eating, working, everything. Our next-door neighbor had recurring dental issues, so I would see him regularly while he was suffering. But all I could really do was offer some ibuprofen and suggest going to a dentist. And I could tell from people’s reactions that nobody was following up with visits to a dentist. I started to feel like I should have better advice, so I decided to find out specifically where I should advise neighbors to go for dental treatment. That’s when I started to understand the problem better.
Catalog of Herbs
James A. Duke in Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, 2018
Reported to be analgesic, anesthetic, anodyne, antidotal, antioxidant, antiperspirant, antiseptic, bactericidal, carminative, deodorant, digestive, disinfectant, rubefacient, stimulant, stomachic, tonic, and vermifuge, cloves is a folk remedy for abdominal problems, callus, cancer, caries, cholera, cough, diarrhea, dyspepsia, enterosis, gastritis, heart, hernia, hiccups, nausea, parturition, polyps, sores, spasm, sterility, toothache, uteropathy, warts, worms, and wounds.4,32,33 In China, crushed flower buds have been used for nasal polyps, in Malaya for callous ulcers, in California for warts.4 Sold in oriental bazaars as a carminative and stimulant, and to relieve the irritation of sore throat. Clove oil is widely used for toothache. Clove oil is locally irritant and stimulates peristalsis. A powerful antiseptic, perhaps dangerously so, it has been applied as a local anesthetic for toothache. Has been used as an expectorant in bronchitis and phthisis. As an aromatic, powdered cloves or an infusion thereof has been given for emesis, flatulence, languid indigestion, and dyspepsia.
The pharmacological management of dental pain
Published in Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, 2020
Joseph V. Pergolizzi, Peter Magnusson, Jo Ann LeQuang, Christopher Gharibo, Giustino Varrassi
Referred pain is pain that originates at a site different from the location where the pain is perceived. Referred dental pain will often have a trigger point on the face or neck that prompts the pain in the tooth or oral cavity. In some cases, this may be treated by gently massaging the trigger point and using muscle stretching techniques, if appropriate, to relieve muscular tension. Referred pain can prompt the inflammatory cascade, so NSAIDs may be appropriate for short-term pain relief. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) may inhibit descending pain pathways and thus interrupt pain signals. A TCA is a sodium-channel blocker and in that way can help block muscular pain being referred to the dentition [72]. Before starting on a TCA regimen, the risks should be discussed with the patient (adverse effects such as dizziness, heart palpitations, xerostomia) and the old adage of ‘start low and go slow’ should be used to gauge patient response [73]. Referred dental pain is not uncommon and it is often referred from the temporal, masseter, or digastric muscles [73]. However, a toothache may also be referred from a cardiovascular condition such as a pain referred from chest muscles. Patients with cardiac-related dental pain may have only dental pain or may complain about pain in the neck or arm as well. Dental blockade does not address this pain, although nitroglycerin may be helpful [66]. Prompt referral to a cardiologist is necessary when dental pain is suspected to be cardiogenic in nature.
Betel quid chewing and cessation in the sociocultural context of Paiwan people from Taiwan: a qualitative study
Published in Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 2021
Chen-Yi Lee, Yong-Yuan Chang
Although P4 did not have any cravings for betel quid, he was still not able to quit. In fact, he was tolerating the pain during the interview. He said, “The pain lasts up to a week, on and off. If the pain continues, for example a toothache and with broken mucosa, I will stop chewing. Today is my second day in pain. I cannot remember how many times I have been in pain, probably more than dozens of times. I will not chew any and be patient when I have a toothache.” He believed that the main barrier of quitting was as follows: “I will begin chewing betel quid again when I am not in pain. In this place, you can see betel quid everywhere you go, the surroundings are full of them, and because of that you feel strange if you do not chew any. Honestly, it is not a must to chew betel quid; however, paradoxically, it feels very refreshing after chewing it. It is very contradictory that I do not want any betel quid, but sometimes you just need some to feel more alert.”
Dental pain and oral health-related quality of life in individuals with severe dental anxiety
Published in Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, 2018
Lisa Svensson, Magnus Hakeberg, Ulla Wide
The prevalence of dental pain (according to the index variable) in the total sample was high (77.6%), as shown in Table 2. Thirty-one individuals (18.2%) answered ‘Yes, I have pain’, to each of the three pain questions included in the dental pain index. Among those who reported pain, the pain intensity was high, with mean scores varying from 49.0 (SD 23.4, ‘toothache when eating something hot/cold’) to 61.0 (SD 27.7, ‘toothache’) for the total group.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Alveolar Process
- Dental Trauma
- Dentin Hypersensitivity
- Periapical Periodontitis
- Pulpitis
- Tooth Decay
- Pain
- Tooth
- Referred Pain
- Periodontal Fiber