Have you ever gone for a run and realized your teeth were hurting afterward? There are several reasons you could be experiencing pain when you go for a jog.
Why Do My Teeth Hurt When I Run?
While running, some people find that they tend to clench their teeth, especially when they are trying to hit that next goal or marker. Teeth can end up hurting when you run, because you’ve gritted your teeth or pushed on them hard for a period.
This might not be apparent if it’s something that you’ve been doing for some time and will take conscious thought and effort to realize if it is happening. Clenching your teeth can be something of a habit for many people. The more you focus your efforts on one thing the more your teeth might clench.
It’s like someone who has a nervous habit of biting their nails, which might I say is also not great for your teeth. They don’t mean to destroy their fingers or their teeth for that matter, but do so without even thinking of it. The more their mind is focused on what is giving them nerves, the more they partake of their habit. Clenching your teeth while running, or during another physical effort, is the same sort of subconscious habit.
Other Typical Causes of Tooth Pain
The most important thing to do if you have teeth pain is to check with your dentist. My experience listed above, although common, is not the only reason your teeth may be hurting. In fact, the most common cause of tooth pain is dental related issues.
Problems, such as cracked teeth, cavities, or periodontitis are all things that need to be addressed by your dental professional. These aren’t always things that you would notice right away either so being evaluated by a professional is highly recommended. For instance, you don’t usually know that you have a cavity until you make that visit to the dentist’s office.
It is only when your symptoms have gotten much worse that you notice yourself. This often means that the underlying problem has been festering for a while as well be allowed to get worse with time.
What Can The Dentist Do To Ease The Pain
The dentist can fill cavities or a crown for a cracked tooth. This will prevent the problem from escalating and, after your gums have recovered, give you relief from the problem. For periodontitis, you’ll need proper gum cleaning. This is because the bacteria lives under your gums.
The pain comes from the inflammation that the bacteria causes after being able to live and reproduce unchecked. During the cleaning, they will pull back the gum to clean out that space between the gums and teeth to remove the bacteria.
What Happens If Your Dentist Clears You?
If your dental visit comes back clear, what should you do next? The next stop is your doctors. Sinus infections can cause discomfort in your nasal cavities, but, especially when you’re clenching your jaw, can cause pain in your teeth.
How Are Your Sinuses Related?
Your sinuses are the cavities of space behind your nasal region. They extend from your ears to down to your mouth. A doctor can show you a more detailed picture. These interconnected cavities, if infected, can cause pain throughout this whole region.
Sinus infections can cause headaches, earaches, nasal congestion, a feeling of pressure, and dental pain. This is because everything is connected in some small way. Without proper professional evaluation, it can be difficult to know the underlying cause of any pain in this region.
Infections Can Cause Discomfort
This is again because your sinuses are all connected. An infection in the ears can cause pain down in your jaw and cause your teeth to ache. Only a doctor would be able to diagnose this problem by looking at your ears. This is why when doctors do a checkup the look at your mouth, eyes, ears, and nose. Without a full evaluation, the underlying cause of a problem might be missed.
The Dentist Cleared Me, Now What?
If there is no underlying medical cause for your teeth pain, it may just be that you are clenching your teeth. This is a habit that many people have when they are concentrating, thinking about a particular subject, out of nervousness, or just a bad habit. If you think this might be the cause, and you notice that you are clenching your teeth often try to break the habit on your own.
How Do I Break a Habit?
Trying to stop a habit cold-turkey can be very difficult. This is why there are so many different options for nicotine users to try to quit. Habits, like clenching your teeth or biting your nails, are particularly difficult because they are often done without the person’s awareness. This is going to be the first step.
First, you need to be more aware of when you are clenching your teeth. Once you realize it, don’t be hard on yourself. Just realize: “I am clenching my teeth and should stop now that I have noticed it.”
Over time you will start picking up on this more quickly. Once you’ve gotten good at recognizing when you are clenching your teeth the habit can be broken. The best way to break a habit is not by just stopping, but rather by replacing it with a good habit.
When you realize you are clenching your teeth use this as a trigger to start a good habit. This could be something as simple as thinking about what it is that is causing this reaction or something physical like focusing on your breath or stretching your arms if you are sitting. Whatever it is you decide to replace clenching your teeth with, it will eventually become your new norm.
