Toothache Emergency London | Same-Day Relief | South Kensington

Toothache is your body's warning signal that something is wrong. Whether it's a dull, persistent ache or a sharp, stabbing pain that makes you gasp, dental pain demands attention. At the Cosmetic Dentistry Clinic in South Kensington, we provide same-day emergency appointments because we know that when you're in pain, every hour feels like a day.

What makes toothache particularly distressing is its ability to dominate your entire existence. The throbbing keeps you awake at night, the sensitivity makes eating impossible, and the constant discomfort affects your concentration, your mood, and your quality of life. Over-the-counter painkillers might take the edge off temporarily, but they're addressing the symptom, not the cause. True relief comes only from identifying and treating the underlying problem.

Understanding Your Toothache

Not all toothaches are created equal, and the nature of your pain often provides crucial diagnostic clues. Understanding what you're experiencing helps us prepare for your appointment and move quickly toward relief.

Types of Dental Pain

Common Causes of Toothache

Understanding why your tooth hurts is essential for effective treatment. Here are the most common culprits we diagnose at our clinic:

Tooth Decay (Dental Caries)

The most common cause of toothache worldwide, tooth decay occurs when bacteria in your mouth produce acids that dissolve enamel. In early stages, decay causes no symptoms. It's only when the cavity penetrates deeper, approaching or reaching the nerve-rich pulp, that pain begins.

Initially, you might notice sensitivity to sweet foods or cold drinks. As decay progresses, the pain becomes more frequent and intense, eventually becoming constant. The good news: caught early, decay can be treated with a simple filling. Left untreated, it may require root canal therapy or extraction.

Dental Abscess

An abscess is a pocket of pus caused by bacterial infection. Periapical abscesses form at the root tip when decay or damage allows bacteria to invade the pulp. Periodontal abscesses occur in the gums beside a tooth root, often due to gum disease.

Abscess pain is typically severe, throbbing, and constant. You might notice swelling in your face or gums, a foul taste from draining pus, fever, or general unwellness. Dental abscesses are genuine emergencies—the infection can spread to other parts of the body, including potentially life-threatening Ludwig's angina or brain abscesses. If you suspect an abscess, contact us immediately.

Cracked or Fractured Teeth

Cracked teeth cause notoriously erratic pain. The crack opens under biting pressure, stimulating the nerve, then closes when pressure is released. This creates sharp, momentary pain that's difficult to localise—patients often can't identify which tooth hurts.

Cracks can result from biting hard objects, trauma, large fillings that weaken tooth structure, or temperature extremes (like eating ice cream then drinking hot coffee). The danger is that cracks propagate over time. Early treatment might save the tooth with a crown; delayed treatment might mean extraction.

Gum Disease

Advanced periodontal disease can cause toothache through several mechanisms. Gum recession exposes sensitive root surfaces. Periodontal abscesses cause localised throbbing pain. Bone loss can make teeth loose and painful when chewing.

Unlike decay, gum disease pain tends to be more diffuse—you might feel general soreness rather than one specific tooth hurting. Look for accompanying signs: bleeding gums, bad breath, receding gums, or teeth that feel loose.

Wisdom Tooth Problems

Impacted or partially erupted wisdom teeth are common sources of pain in young adults. When wisdom teeth don't have room to emerge properly, they can cause pericoronitis (infection of the gum flap covering a partially erupted tooth), pressure on adjacent teeth, or cysts forming around impacted teeth.

Wisdom tooth pain typically occurs at the back of the jaw, often accompanied by difficulty opening the mouth, swelling, and bad taste. While not always requiring extraction, problematic wisdom teeth often do need removal to prevent recurring infections.

Pulpitis

Pulpitis is inflammation of the dental pulp—the soft tissue containing nerves and blood vessels at the centre of each tooth. It can be reversible (the tooth can heal if the irritant is removed) or irreversible (the nerve is dying and requires root canal treatment).

Reversible pulpitis causes sharp, short-lived pain triggered by stimuli like cold. Irreversible pulpitis causes prolonged pain that lingers after the stimulus is removed, spontaneous pain that wakes you at night, and often radiating pain that's hard to localise.

Toothache Treatment Options

Treatment depends entirely on the cause. During your emergency appointment, we'll examine the tooth, take X-rays if needed, and diagnose the underlying problem. Here are the common treatments:

The Emergency Appointment Process

When you call with a toothache, we'll arrange a same-day appointment whenever possible. Here's what to expect:

Preventing Future Toothaches

While some dental emergencies are unavoidable, many toothaches are preventable with proper care:

Frequently Asked Questions

Cosmetic Dentistry Clinic
20 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 3DL