I guess I’d always assumed you’d only feel a new cavity when chewing, but hot coffee can likely locate it just as, er, efficiently, yes?
Someone please say no
Sorry to be disobliging.
“Yup.”
never had a cavity, eh? My congrats to your mom who made you brush your teeth with Crest
Getting a cavity filled is no biggie anymore. An x-ray, a swab of your gums with “numbing stuff”, a quick shot in the gum with novocaine (which isn’t as bad as it sounds, trust me), possibly you may get to play with the nitrous oxide thingie, which my kids think is fabulous, and then you’re done, all fixed.
Go see a dentist before it gets worse and you need a root canal.
Which nobody thinks is fabulous.
Yep. Or cold. It all depends, however. I have deep valleys in my molars and a correspondingly high number of cavities and, IIRC, only one has ever given me trouble vis-à-vis hot & cold. (That one went away when I destroyed the tooth on a cherry pit and got a gold crown.)
Oh, BTW, I’ve always had trouble getting my tooth numbed. Not too long ago the dentist couldn’t hit the nerve and I finally piped up about it instead of just sucking up the pain. The dentitst did a numbing technique where he numbed the offending tooth, and only the offending tooth. It was effin’ brilliant. Ask for it—at gun point if you have to. (Okay, maybe not at gun point. But give it a whirl.)
silently weeps
The funny thing is I was just to the dentist maybe a month ago, and he decided to forgo a set of x-rays until my next appointment. . . though this little bastard may not have even started yet.
Well thanks, guys. I appreciate the pre-filling pep talks/advice, too. I know it’s no big deal these days- just hate to see my streak broken. 
Only reason I asked in the first place was because my teeth are occasionally sensitive to hot and cold and I was just hoping against hope that’s all this was. But the soreness is sharper. Deeper. More localized. . . excuse me, I’m getting verklempt again.
Hey! Depending on where the pain is, it might not be a cavity at all.
It might be Gingivitis! :eek:
Either way, get it looked at pronto. Also, remember there are alternatives to silver fillings. A Dentist friend told me gold fillings are ideal for a variety of reasons, though you may decide to have the tooth bonded, then the color of the filling will blend in with your teeth.
Bottom, toward the front (?)
Bottom? I dunno. I have (had?) the beginnings of gingivitis, and it felt a little like athlete’s foot of the gumline. Nasty. But if I Listerine-Floss-brush every night, and brush every morning, I’m ok.
I’ve never had a cavity, though, so I couldn’t guess how the two might feel different.
Q: When does a Chinese man go to the dentist?
A: 2:30
I love that one! Hey! Back to the dentist with you. May well not be a cavity, though. “Tartar Control” toothpaste can also cause real temperature sensitivity. I’ve have both cavities and the aforementioned situation. Dentist said that the remedy was to simply knock off the TCP. Took about a week to improve- no problem after that. DO have it looked at, though. Root canals are both expensive and Very Sucking.
Good luck,
BP
Hot-cold sensitivity can also be an abcess, which, after a coupla weeks of antibiotics, might require a root-canal. These days, root-canal work is no big deal, either.
Years ago, root-canal work was really unpleasant. Let’s just say that the Geneva Conventions didn’t allow doing it to POW’s. Techniques and anesthetics are much better now, and R-C work is merely inconvenient.
Chiming in with another fun possibility…
It could also be a cracked tooth.
:eek:
Do I have to tell you that Bingo Plebney’s too-much-tartar-control scenario is currently my favorite?
(Made an appointment for Thurs.)
Hey, Moody Bastard, how did it go? What’s the verdict?
Nosy bastards- uh, I mean inquiring minds want to know…
Winston
That’s right, I forgot to ring in the verdict. Which was. . . drum roll . . .
Slightly Exposed Nerve from Brushing Wrong!
Got some Sensodyne and was instructed to reform my wicked ways. But he took an X-ray anyway because I was like, so you’re sure there’s no decay? There wasn’t. It’s good having your uncle for your dentist, though. Especially when you’re as neurotic as I am.
Thanks for asking, Winston!
Dang! Your dentist beat me to it. Sensitivity can be caused by grinding your teeth at night, which can wear down the enamel, bringing the nerve closer to the surface. I’ve had the same problem.
I’ve had temperature sensitivity with a cracked tooth.
Sensitivity due to temperature is one sign. I didn’t get my first cavity till I was 19, and what I noticed was:
-aforementioned temp sensitivity
-sensitivity to very sweet things
-sensitivity when brushing
-sensitivity when sucking air directly onto tooth (esp. cold air)
I had chocolate sauce touch this cavity directly one time, and I damn near screamed. I thought my head was going to pop off from the pain.
I think you ought to see your dentist to make sure. And yes, a cracked tooth can cause the same sensations.
I just went to the dentist with the exact same problem. No cavities, broken teeth, gingivitis, etc. It was just a receding gum that exposed the root a little bit. No big deal, he recommended switching to a toothpaste for sensitive teeth.
But, as everyone else has said, the only way to be sure is to let a dentist take a look.
Same here. No big problem. The doc was going to use some sort of numbing agent and have me use Sensodyne with a soft-bristled brush. I declined the treatment to keep me from eating sweet things (seemd to affect it worse than hot/cold), so I don’t know how often the agent would have to be reapplied.