Here's a bizarre twist: toothache may be older than teeth.

That's because teeth seem to have evolved from sensory organs, and only later became co-opted for mechanical functions like biting and chewing.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2481186-the-first-teeth-were-sensory-organs-on-the-skin-of-ancient-fish/

The first teeth were sensory organs on the skin of ancient fish

Teeth are good for chewing and biting, but they are also sensitive – and that may have been their original function hundreds of millions of years ago

New Scientist