Find the cause, end the pain

First, do this

Before anything else, call us at 540-315-3725. Day or night, our smart answering system picks up and books you into the schedule, so the hardest part is already handled. Then, while you wait for your visit:

1. 1. Rinse with warm salt water. Swish gently and spit, a few times a day. It soothes irritated gums and keeps the area clean.
2. 2. Floss gently around the sore tooth. Sometimes a wedged piece of food is the whole problem. Ease it out; don't force anything.
3. 3. Cold compress on the outside of the cheek. Twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off. Cold calms swelling; skip heat, which can make swelling worse.
4. 4. Over-the-counter pain relief, as the package directs. Taken on schedule rather than only when pain spikes, it holds most toothaches at a manageable level. Never put aspirin directly on the gum; it burns the tissue.

Why toothaches happen

A toothache is a symptom, not a diagnosis, and you don't have to figure out which kind you have. That's our job, and an X-ray usually settles it in minutes. Most of the toothaches we see in Lynchburg trace back to a few familiar culprits: decay that has worked its way deep enough to bother the nerve, a cracked tooth that twinges when you bite down just so, an infection gathering at the tip of the root, or an abscess in the gum beside the tooth. They can feel surprisingly similar from the inside, which is why a quick exam beats guessing.

What treatment looks like

Your visit starts with a focused exam and a digital X-ray of the painful tooth, so we treat the cause rather than just quieting the symptom. From there, the fix matches the problem. If decay is the trouble and the nerve is still healthy, a filling ends it. If the nerve is inflamed beyond recovery, a root canal clears out the infection and saves the tooth, and Dr. Kim and Dr. Azevedo do them in-house, so there's no referral, no second office, no starting the story over somewhere else. Cracks, gum trouble, and infections each get their own plan, explained in plain English with a clear cost before we begin. With 15 operatories and emergency slots protected in the schedule Monday through Friday, we have room to say yes when you need us.

Why waiting makes it worse

Toothaches don't tend to fix themselves. Decay keeps advancing, cracks keep spreading, and an infection that's confined to one tooth today can involve the bone around it next month. A problem that would have been a simple filling becomes a root canal, then an extraction. Calling early is how you keep both the tooth and the bill small. And if cost is the worry keeping you home, the Virginia Dental Club ($279 a year, 20% off treatment) exists for exactly that.

Reviewed by Dr. Jihoon Kim, DDS, July 2026