A Tater Tot, a Toothache and One Very Strange Dental Diagnosis

The other day, I was eating dinner. We were having hamburgers off the grill. I had just popped a soggy tater tot in my mouth and bitten down, and a searing shot of pain went through my head. My tooth!

You would have thought I had bitten down on a piece of cement. For the rest of the night, I was in pain. I took some OTC meds to help, but it wasn't pleasant. The next day, I called the dentist. I told them I had no idea what happened, but apparently a soggy tater tot is vicious. I told them I figured I had a filling fall out, a cavity pop, or a cracked tooth.

Why Did My Tooth Hurt With Nothing Showing on the X-Ray?

I got in there and in the chair, and they did their thing. They took X-rays, poked and tapped on my teeth. You know what they found? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

That's when I found out that you can bruise a tooth. YES! A tooth can be bruised. Who knew?

Can You Really Bruise a Tooth?

You can damage the ligaments that hold your tooth in place and the tissues around them. What you think is an injury to the tooth is actually an injury to its ligaments.

What Does a Bruised Tooth Feel Like?

According to Colgate:

• When a tooth experiences trauma, the surrounding soft tissue and ligaments absorb the impact.
• The trauma can cause the tiny blood vessels around the tooth to rupture, sending blood through the apical foramen, the small opening at the tip of the tooth’s root.
• This can cause the tooth to become discolored and painful, much like a bruise on the skin. The pain may not be limited to the injured tooth and can sometimes be felt in other teeth, both in the front and back of the mouth.

Could Sinus Pressure Make a Toothache Worse?

My dentist went on to tell me that some of the pain could come from sinus pressure. I've got a lot of that going on these days. Stupid ragweed.

So the next time you hurt a tooth and can't see any damage, just know you might have bruised your tooth.

I won't be chewing on that side of my mouth for a few days.