Tooth Pain

AAE’s (American Association of Endodontists) latest proposed effort to simplify and standardize diagnosis and corresponding treatment of toothaches has been met with resistance. Part of the problem lies in a failure to communicate symptoms properly, a lack of standardized diagnostic testing, and an inadequate assessment of signs and symptoms. Diagnosis based on clinical findings certainly simplifies the process but does little to consider the bio-physiologic root of the problem. This chapter presents a cursory explanation of the cause of tooth pain, unveils how each component of the dental complex responds to detrimental insults, addresses communicative problems by introducing Melzack’s “On the Language of Pain,” and underscores the importance of embracing an active process not static images depicting a diagnosis simply based on existent, limited, and sometimes discordant findings.