Why do my new fillings (replacements) STILL hurt?!
Question:
Why do my new fillings (replacements) STILL hurt?
In December (2006) I had 5 old silver/amalgam fillings replaced and 1 new cavity filled. That's 6 teeth all close together, 3 on top, 3 on bottom. It hurt to chew even soft foods after 2 weeks, so I went back in. She adjusted my bite and it felt better, but not back to normal. After 2 months it still hurt, so she adjusted it again, and better still but still not normal. Then a few days ago (it's now May 2007) I ate something hot and it HURT for two full days. It ached constantly, both top and bottom, in that general region, for a full 2 days.
Do I need a root canal? Did she mess the teeth up? My old fillings never gave me any problems, and even the cavity didn't hurt. I've never had pain after a filling (replacement or otherwise) until now.
In a nut shell: no pain before procedures, lots of pain after procedures. Is there a chance she didn't fully cure the composite, or left gaps, or drilled to deep, or something?
Any info would be helpful. Thanks!
Answers:
Most all teeth go through some slight pulpitis after being worked on but usually settle down with in a reasonable amount of time.
Although if a restoration is high and left unadjusted for too long, the excessive force from biting on it can actually cause the nerve to die.
I don't know how deep or old these restorations were, or the reasons they were replaced, so there could be many other reasons you are experiencing pain. What I'm stressing here is that this pain could be the occlusion problem, or something completely different.
When a patient experiences pain this long we always follow up with an x ray to make sure it's not an abscess forming. Some dentist will do a pulp vitality test. In most cases we remove the composite restoration and place a sedative filling material which helps soothe the nerve and speed the recovery. This is usually accompanied by a round of antibiotics as a precautionary measure. If the tooth settles down "completely" after a few months, then a new restoration is placed.
It may be that the nerve has been traumatized too long from hitting heavy on it (or other reasons) and is unable to heal no matter what is done now and will need a root canal therapy in order to save it. Only your dentist will be able to decide this with an exam.
In any case it's not something that the dentist did or didn't do, so do let her evaluate this situation for further treatment. After this much time I doubt that another adjustment will do any good, so you may want to ask her opinion about placing a temporary sedative filling. Hope I've been of some help and good luck.