| Decayed Tooth | Abscess | Broken Filling | Exposed Root | Gum Disease | Damaged Nerve | Cracked Tooth | |
| Heat sensitive | Sometimes | Usually | Sometimes | Usually No | Usually No | Yes | Yes |
| Cold sensitive | Sometimes | Sometimes | Sometimes | Sometimes | Sometimes | Usually Yes | Sometimes |
| Sore to touch | Usually No | Usually | Usually No | Sometimes | Sometimes | Usually | Usually No |
| Hurts when biting | Sometimes | Usually | Sometimes | No | Sometimes | Sometimes | Usually |
| Worse at night | Usually No | Usually Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Hurts when eating hard food | Sometimes | Sometimes | Yes | No | Sometimes | No | YES |
| Hurts with sweet foods | Yes | No | Yes | YES | No | No | Sometimes |
| Hurts with pressure | Sometimes | Yes | Sometimes | No | Sometimes | Sometimes | Sometimes |
Toothache can be a severe pain, and it is wise to have the reason checked by your dentist. It is often very hard for patients to tell which tooth is actually causing pain, because of the type of nerve supply teeth have. Often toothaches are caused by germs which enter the live part of the tooth through a decayed area, a loose filling, a crack in the tooth, or by a nerve exposure following an accident.