why is it that you can break a piece of a tooth and it doesn’t need fixing, but if you have the tiniest cavity it has to get filled ASAP?
In: Biology
Most of your tooth doesn’t have nerves in it. If you chip it without getting deep enough to hit the nerve, it’s kind of like clipping your nails and you won’t deal with too much pain, if any. Getting a cavity is like slicing open the nail bed and letting it get infected. The pain can range from very little to mind-numbing, and can take several forms. Sharp, dull constant, throbbing. Sometimes killing the bacteria will end the toothache, other times the nerve is exposed and everything causes it to hurt.
Source: lost most of my teeth through a combination of poor genetics and tons of energy drinks and unfortunately have a lot of experience with both cavities and broken teeth.
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