man with dental pain

Why Pain Is Not a Good Indicator That You Need Dental Work

Colkmire DentistryUncategorized

  • Have you ever delayed your regular six-month dental checkup because nothing hurt?
  • Do you use pain as an indicator of when you need to go to the dentist?
  • Are you under the impression that if there was a problem with your teeth, you would know because it would hurt?
  • If you had an issue with your teeth or gums that didn’t hurt, would you know about it?

If you have ever been under the impression that it was okay to reserve trips to the dentist only for toothache or pain, you should keep reading. Here are some tips from our Sarasota dentist to find out why pain is not a good indicator that you need dental work.


There are many dental issues that aren’t painful

Some dental problems aren’t painful, even if they’re serious. Right now, you might be experiencing issues in your mouth that you don’t even know about. If you’re waiting to feel pain before you see a dentist, you may be waiting too long. Allowing these conditions to continue to spread makes them worse and can even hurt your overall health.

Examples of dental problems that typically don’t hurt:

  • Most cavities
  • Receding gums
  • Periodontal disease: gingivitis and periodontitis

Even though these problems don’t hurt, not getting adequate treatment for these things can lead to bigger problems. If you fill a cavity, it prevents further decay, but if you don’t treat it, it will continue to get worse until it potentially could even spread to the pulp of your tooth. Leaving gum issues untreated can lead to tooth loss and bone loss, so it’s best to take the right measures to correct these issues.

Some dental conditions only become painful in their advanced state

Dentists are trained to catch problems with your teeth and gums in their early state. If Dr. Colkmire sees a problem that can be stopped from progressing to a much worse condition, he will let you know which preventative measures you should take. This is generally much cheaper and much easier on the patient than doing costly repair only after the condition has been doing damage for a long time. For example, oral cancer in its initial stages rarely causes any pain. It can present itself with symptoms that you brush off, like a sore throat, voice changes, bad breath, or a white or red patch in the mouth. It would be unwise to wait until oral cancer actually hurts to get someone to look at it.

What’s really regrettable is when we see a patient come in only when something starts to hurt, especially when it’s something that could have been stopped or eliminated completely if it had been caught early. Please don’t find yourself in this boat–get your dental checkups regularly and avoid being a statistic.


Here at our Sarasota dentist office, we are committed to your good oral health. Be sure that you’re getting your regular six-month checkup so that you can be informed, take preventative measures if needed, and get necessary repair for anything that’s going on with your teeth (even if you can’t feel it) Visit our dentist in Sarasota dental pain experience. Contact us at Sarasota Dental Office for your appointment.