Tooth pain is easy to identify. If a tooth hurts when you bite down on it, then you know that you need to have your dentist check it out to see if you need any treatment.

However, sometimes, you get different sensations in your teeth, such as tingling, that are harder to pin down. What can make your teeth tingle?

1. Tooth Decay

While decay on a tooth eventually hurts, you may not feel any pain early on. You may have some discomfort that feels like a tingle as the decay starts to break down the outer layers of the tooth.

Basically, this means that the inside of the tooth, which is sensitive, has become exposed. Eating, drinking and even sucking in air may make the tooth tingle.

2. A Broken Filling

Fillings protect teeth from decay and other problems. However, they only work if they are intact and in place.

Sometimes, fillings can crack, break or chip. You might not see any surface damage at this stage; however, the filling can't cover the tooth if it is broken. It lets food particles and liquids inside the tooth. Again, this may give you a tingling feeling especially after you eat or drink.

3. Over-Brushing

While you need to put some work into brushing your teeth, it's easy to get too enthusiastic. If you use a hard toothbrush and scrub at your teeth too much or for too long, then you can affect their enamel coverage.

If you lose some enamel, then your teeth lose some of their hard outer coating. This exposes sensitive areas. Whenever you expose these areas to anything you eat or drink, then they react. While this may develop into general sensitivity, it may start as a tingling feeling.

4. An Allergy to Toothpaste

If all your teeth tingle after you brush them and you don't think you're brushing too vigorously, then you may have an allergy to your toothpaste. This isn't common, but it does happen to some people.

This is more likely to happen after you switch to a new brand or type of toothpaste. Your teeth feel tingly or prickly for a while and then go back to normal.

While occasional tingling probably isn't a sign of anything serious, you should make an appointment with your dentist if you get this feeling regularly or if it doesn't go away. You may need dental treatment on one or more teeth to fix the problem.