Nerve pain at tooth base

[genxsis]

I've got a real pain in a tooth right next to the gumline. I don't know what the tooth is called, but it's on my lower right side next to the first molar. When I poke it with my fingernail, it hurts bad. It feels like I'm touching an exposed nerve! When I brush over it with a toothbrush, it's agony. The real mystery is that there is nothing there to see, such as a cavity. At least that would give my dentist something to fill to solve the problem. But there's nothing! What could this be?

I even put anbosol on it once before brushing. It caused my tongue and lips and cheek to go numb, but it didn't do a thing for that tooth.

 

[Zzzdentist]

I posted some reasons for dental sensitivity at my website if you wanted to do some reading.  It sounds like you might have exposed root surface sensitivity.  Sometimes the gum will drop a little exposing the neck of the tooth.  Soon the cementum covering that part is worn away with brushing, and exposed dentinal tubules become sensitive to stimuli.

Try brushing with Sensodyne toothpaste, Crest Sensitivity, or Colgate desensitizing toothpaste.  Hopefully that should relieve the symptoms over time.  You can also try brushing with it, spitting as much out as possible, and not rinsing to allow the active ingredient to stay in contact with the tooth longer.  Or you can try placing a small amount and smearing it over the root to leave it there.  Try to burnish it in with a Q-tip.

If that fails, the dentist has some desensitizing agents in the office that they can apply.  I usually try Gluma and coat the area with Durafluor, a fluoride varnish.