Toothache

[Perikles]

My diccionary says it is dolor de muelas. So what do you say if one of your front teeth were hurting?

[chileno]

Dolor de dientes.

[Pura]

Yes, muelas = molars dientes = teeth

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Pura

Yes, muelas = molars dientes = teeth

But muelas are molars, not the incisors or canines.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Perikles: The most common dental pain people complain about is in the molars; that is why the dictionary says "dolor de muelas".

If it is another tooth the one that's aching, then you simply say "me duele este diente" or if it's all of them "me duelen los dientes".

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

@Perikles: The most common dental pain people complain about is in the molars; that is why the dictionary says "dolor de muelas".

Yes, I know that, but why am I always different?

Thanks anyway

[Elaina]

Maybe you try too hard to be explicit in your explanation....no need to know that it is an incisor or ? Unless you are speaking to your dentist.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Yes, I know that, but why am I always different?

That's a question for which you might get an answer rather from a psychologist than from a language learner.

[JPablo]

@Perikles, Angélica gave you the answer (and the rest...) Just happens that languages use metonymical resources to express ideas... and while you can say "dolor de dientes" that is not "idiomatic", and you could say, "me duele el colmillo izquierdo", but that would not be the most common expression. A kid talking to his mom will say "me duelen las muelas" "tengo dolor de muelas..." "me duele una muela"

Perhaps, Spain, being a land of rabbits, eating carrots at a good rate, contributed to an excellent health for the canines and incisors, thus avoiding any pain on these... (this last statement not approved nor upheld by any Medical Association...)