A crack in the tooth is also a cause, although it can be difficult to diagnose, as cracks will normally appear to be invisible to the naked eye and x-rays. Cracks can make your tooth feel as if it is exploding, as they expose the dentin and nerves to the air and anything else you put in your mouth. If you don t get them fixed, they will get worse, possibly leading to your tooth breaking off at the gums. Although this is sick to say the least, this remedy was discarded in 1728, proven to be non effective and replaced by other more suitable treatment. As time passed, doctors proved that the best way to stop the pain was to clean and remove the nerve and pulp of the tooth. Root canals are a very common procedure these days, as they help to save the tooth by removing the dead or dying pulp. Most adults tend to spend less than a minute, which isn t enough time to clean your teeth. To get the right amount of time brushing, you should try using a stopwatch while you brush. When you brush your teeth, you should avoid using pressure but instead use short, gentle strokes. You should focus on hard to reach places, and make sure that you get the areas between your teeth as well. Once you have a dry socket, you won t care about anything but stopping the pain. The pain can be so intense at times that you will be willing to do anything to stop the pain - even for a few minutes. Once the socket has been packed, you will be relived from pain for a day or so. If you go back to your dentist, he will remove the old packing, wash the socket out, and place a new packing in. If it has made it s way deep into the gum line, you may not be able to save the tooth. The crack can be present for many years, before you start to feel any pain. To be on the safe side, you should go to your regular checkups with your dentist, as he can check for cracks and other problems. The oblique root fracture is next, although it doesn t involve the tooth crown at all. The fear of pain in dentistry is so high in fact, that many people fail to go to the dentist until their condition becomes so severe that they have no other choice than to see a dentist. A majority of individuals are terrified of the dental chair, although once they are numb, they sometimes fall asleep.