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Clenching toothache

Denver dentists Dr. James DeLapp and Dr. H. Candace DeLapp frequently see patients who have a tooth-ache. The causes of the tooth ache include but are not limited to:

• Dental decay
• Gum disease
• Lost filling or dental crown
• Dying tooth
• Other medical problem (heart pain can refer to the jaw)
• “other”

Differential Diagnosis Highlands Ranch and Denver dentist

A “differential diagnosis” is our best guess in order of priority. The thought behind a differential diagnosis is to look at “all” possibilities not just the one the “appears” to be obvious. Most of the time… in most cases… we are spot on with the diagnosis but in others symptoms can persist. Marrying a diagnosis can at times be wrong and we should look and test as best we can for other potential causes of discomfort.

Tooth pain can be caused from a variety of sources and sometimes their presentations are not definitive. In addition… no one ever said you could not have more than one thing going wrong with you at a time.  All these factors can contribute to difficulty in isolating the source or sources.

Pain from clenching and grinding Denver Dentistry

Apparent tooth pain can be from a tooth dying or… from clenching and grinding. A patient seen recently had pain that he was certain was from a new dental crown fabricated at another office.  Today…. at this time…. the differential diagnosis is the pain was from clenching and grinding. His jaw muscles we very tender to palpation etc and all signs point to this diagnosis.  However… as in all differential diagnosis… I  (and the patient) understand that other problems “could” be the root cause.  This patient was given the other symptoms that could occur and will call if symptoms don’t get better or change and become isolated.

Call our Highlands Ranch and Denver Dental office today for an appointment

Please feel free to call our office today and schedule an appointment.  We can be reached at (303) 694-9740.  If you prefer to send us an e-mail please click on the following link Denver Dentists.

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