I have toothache & need some help with vocabulary to describe my pain - I can't find more than mal or douleur!

Message

demi · #1 Post by **demi** » Mon Sep 22, 2025 6:34 pm

One of my back molars is sore and hurts when I bite on it. It's not what I would call a stabbing, acute pain but more of a tenderness & soreness.

Luckily I have been able to make an appointment to see my dentist tomorrow. I want to be able to describe to her that it is more sore than pain & I can't find a way of translating this!

Any help would be very welcome.

PS And I have been thinking it might be good to have a section/thread for French language generally..................

curtis · #2 Post by **curtis** » Mon Sep 22, 2025 6:55 pm

Use the word sensible or très sensible

Polly · #3 Post by **Polly** » Mon Sep 22, 2025 6:59 pm

I’ve thought fr a while that a section for medical terms would be a good idea.

You could try ‘ molaire arrière sensible.’

Good luck for tomorrow.

Blaze · #4 Post by **Blaze** » Mon Sep 22, 2025 7:01 pm

Sorry to hear that, Demi - tooth-ache is horrible.
You'll probably get all sorts of different answers ....
I would say "j'ai une dent qui me fait (très) mal quand je mords dessus" (I've got a tooth that hurts when I bite on it).
Tooth is feminine - "une dent" so if you wanted to say it's sensitive, you could say "elle est (très) sensible si je la touche" (it's sensitive if i touch it)

Actions speak louder than words and just pointing to it and screwing up your face would be enough !
Best of luck and how fortunate to get an appointment so quickly.

Lori · #5 Post by **Lori** » Mon Sep 22, 2025 7:18 pm

Agree a section for medical terms would be wonderful !!

Also agree with all the above suggestions. And yes, you are so fortunate to have gotten a RDV so quickly.

Wishing you the best of luck tomorrow.

demi · #6 Post by **demi** » Mon Sep 22, 2025 7:30 pm

Thank you all very much. I've just had a glass of wine & that has helped!!

I was talking to my son, who has lived in France for 20+years and is fluent in French. He was saying that he has struggled ( with back problems) to describe the nuances of pain in French, eg dull, stabbing, sharp, sore,..............

My dentist is lovely & is very receptive to my efforts to get things over when I lack the vocabulary.

Liz · #7 Post by **Liz** » Mon Sep 22, 2025 8:33 pm

I find always found it strange that France, home to a nation of hypochrondriacs, has such a limited vocabulary for sensations of pain.

Blaze · #8 Post by **Blaze** » Tue Sep 23, 2025 8:56 am

Agreed Liz but they rarely ask for the "qualité" of the pain.
Doctors, dentists, urgences will almost always ask is the level of pain on a scale of (le niveau sur une echelle de..... ) ... and that varies depending n who's asking ! The pompiers and first aiders use 1 to 4, level 4 being unbearable pain - the urgences know this scale.
You can describe pain as intense, agüe (sharp), superficielle, lancinante (stabbing) .... but generally medical folk don't seem that bothered !!

Best of luck today

demi · #9 Post by **demi** » Tue Sep 23, 2025 12:44 pm

Again, many thanks for all the help.

I woke up this morning totally pain free!!

I went to the dentist as it was a 6 monthly check up anyhow. Lovely dentist had a look, took an Xray & the upshot is that I am becoming "long in the tooth"!! The gum is receding which makes the bone less stable & the tooth is slightly loose & prone to getting infected. The dentist has given me some mouthwash & has said that if it carries on causing problems the tooth will have to come out.

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