As the saying goes, “a toothache is not a disease, but a pain that really kills you”, people who have experienced toothache naturally know, but is a toothache really not a disease? The answer is of course no. In a normal tooth, there should be no discomfort in general. If there is pain in the teeth, it is likely that the teeth are diseased or in a subhealthy state. Like most other bodily pains, toothache is a manifestation of the body’s self-protection mechanism, a reminder that it is time for you to take some time to care for the silent, unsung contributor that has been feeding and processing your food for years, nourishing your whole body, promoting blood circulation to your brain and providing physiological stimulation. It seems to be saying to you, “Don’t look at me, I’m tough, but I can be vulnerable and hurt! Toothache is a symptom that indicates a deviation from the normal state of certain tissues of the tooth, but the nature, duration and location of the toothache suggest different causes and correspondingly different treatments. In terms of diagnosis, doctors are a bit like Sherlock Holmes in that they need to find the culprit and bring it to justice based on various clues provided by the patient. Therefore, in clinical practice, doctors often ask you: how does it hurt, how long has it been there, is it constant or intermittent, can you identify where it hurts, and so on. As a non-medical person, you also often have the question: What is a certain kind of toothache? What should I do? The following is a brief description of the different toothaches that may indicate oral problems, one by one. One of the more common types of toothache is tooth soreness, or called tooth sensitivity. This is actually a sign that the nerve, or pulp, of the tooth is being irritated. Although the pulp nerve is surrounded by hard-textured dentin and enamel, external stimuli such as cold, heat, acid, sweet, pressure, and impact forces can be transmitted to the pulp tissue through the enamel and exposed dentin, resulting in sensitivity symptoms in the pulp. Among them, excessive wear and tear of teeth is the main cause of tooth sensitivity. The mechanical friction caused by chewing and other movements of the teeth leads to a slow and progressive physiological wear of the hard tissues of the teeth. Excessive loss of hard tissues due to night grinding, clenching, lateral chewing, etc. is considered pathological wear. In addition, abnormal occlusion or disorder of tooth alignment, such as heavy deep overlap, individual teeth reversal, etc., can aggravate tooth wear and cause damage to the temporomandibular joint due to restricted jaw movement. Some people think that teeth are hard and are not afraid of grinding, and the more they are worn, the stronger they become, which is really a misconception. The performance of tooth wear is closely related to the site of frequent abrasion. Some people like to use a fixed position of the incisive end of the front teeth to knock melon seeds and other hard-shelled food, and over time, the result in the incisive edge of that fixed position of the enamel on excessive wear, the formation of a groove, or curved cut or defect. This characteristic defective tooth is commonly known as a “melon tooth”. A defect in the cervical part of the labial surface of the anterior teeth or the cervical part of the buccal surface of the posterior teeth is wedge-shaped and is called a wedge-shaped defect. It is generally believed that long-term horizontal dragging brushing can also cause or aggravate the damage to the hard tissues of the cervical region of the teeth and form wedge-shaped defects. Wedge-shaped defects are caused by a combination of factors such as mechanical abrasion and acidic decalcification during brushing and weak tissue structure of the tooth neck. The occurrence and development of wedge-shaped defects may be related to the following factors: the structure at the cervical enamel-bone boundary of the tooth is weak and susceptible to abrasion, stress concentration, and injury. Therefore, the abrasion of brushing may be one of the main reasons for the development of wedge defects in the cervical part of the teeth, and it is also related to the toothbrush used for brushing, toothpaste, brushing method and the amount of force used during brushing. It is based on the fact that people who basically do not brush their teeth rarely have wedge-shaped defects, while people who brush their teeth, especially those who brush with force across their teeth, often have wedge-shaped defects on the labial and buccal sides of their teeth. In addition, acidic food and acid reflux are also thought to be associated with the occurrence of cervical wedge defects. Wear that occurs on the occlusal surface of the posterior teeth initially appears as a small, smooth plane at the cusp of the tooth, and then gradually expands and deepens to expose the dentin. As the wear increases, the lingual cusps of the maxillary posterior teeth and the buccal cusps of the mandibular posterior teeth gradually become flat or even depressed, while, on the contrary, the buccal cusps of the maxillary posterior teeth and the lingual cusps of the mandibular posterior teeth increasingly appear long and sharp. For these reasons, prevention can be carried out by improving chewing habits, applying proper brushing methods, adjusting dietary structure, and treating related digestive system disorders. According to the specific situation, the following measures can have a positive effect on preventing or reducing tooth wear. 1, early orthodontic treatment of various occlusal abnormalities, tooth alignment disorders and other dental malformations. Make the lower jaw move freely not only in the upper and lower directions but also in the horizontal direction. 2.Avoid subconscious clenching of teeth, and correct long-term use of a fixed position of teeth to chew hard objects, knocking melon seeds, etc. 3, advocate the use of soft-bristled health care toothbrush, regular replacement (preferably 3 months), the implementation of the correct vertical brushing way (see the previous section for details). 4.People who have the habit of grinding their teeth at night should go to the hospital in time. 5, heavy wear of teeth, the best assembly or bedtime wear with bite pad. 6.For those with severe tooth hypoplasia, protect the back teeth with artificial crowns as early as possible. Patients who already have more obvious symptoms of tooth soreness can go to the hospital for desensitization treatment. Commonly used are desensitization paste method, light curing method, laser desensitization and other methods. Self-treatment methods are also recommended: chewing dry tea leaves, fresh walnuts, garlic seeds, ginger, etc. with sore teeth, from which you can choose 1-2 suitable foods and chew them 1-2 times a day for 3-5 minutes each time, which can be implemented for a period of time to relieve the symptoms of sore teeth. The mechanism may be that the tannic acid contained in the above-mentioned foods can close the exposed dentin tubules, thus preventing or relieving the transmission of external stimuli into the pulp tissue and causing the discomfort of tooth soreness.