My filling leaves a space between gum and back tooth?!
Question: My filling leaves a space between gum and back tooth!?
I hadn't seen the dentist in about 2 years due to lack of insurance!. I had a large cavity in my back molar, and the cavity was also above the gum line!. They filled it, but ever since it has a dull ache(its been 5 days so far) and it seems that the filling/tooth is not sealed under and close to the gum, like I can find the crease of the very top of the filling and this gap or crease is not way above the gum line where I can't touch but at the top of where the tooth would be visible!. I know this is a hard to reach tooth!. Is this normal, as in my gum will grow over top of it!?Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
You ARE supposed to feel the crease of the filling at the top!. That is normal!.
However, the teeth should not be apart after the placement of the filling!.
There is a QUICK TEST that you can do with floss to check if the filling was done right!.
WHEN THE FILLING IS NOT DONE RIGHT :
If the piece of floss passes between the teeth without any resistance then the filling was not right!. In other words, the contact between the teeth was not restored properly!.
Teeth normally touch each other without any perceivable gap!. That prevents the food particles from entering the gap easily!.
WHEN THE FILLING IS DONE RIGHT :
If there is good contact resulting in adequate amount of resistance while flossing, then the filling is fine!.
IF THE FILLING IS FINE, THEN WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED !?
You mentioned: "I hadn't seen the dentist in about 2 years due to lack of insurance!. I had a large cavity in my back molar, and the cavity was also above the gum line!."
When you have a large cavity, 2 things happen :
1) Food always gets caught, which in turn results in bone loss in that area if the cavity is not fixed quick enough!.
The dentist can only restore the original shape of the tooth and cannot reverse the bone loss!.
So, now even after placing a filling food is still getting caught in there and causing the gum area to be tender!.
2) The cavity was large enough to be too close to the nerve (pulp) and it was untreated for 2 years!.
Sometimes, placing a filling after cleaning out all the decay cannot guarantee a problem free outcome because the nerve might have gotten irreversibly involved!.
You just didn't realize that because all along it was open and draining by itself!.
Now that the filling has been placed, everything is sealed and even the slightest amount of irritation in the nerve is causing microscopic swelling of the nerve!. Pressure is building up and it has nowhere to drain!.
If that is the case, over time, it will only get worse and you will need Root Canal Treatment (the "nerve treatment") to get the problem fixed!.
The same thing would have happened in a few more months even if your dentist had decided not to do anything about the cavity!.
In that case though, the tooth would have rotted out and you would have had to get the tooth extracted!.
The best thing will be to get in touch with your dentist and get evaluated!.
You can look at the following Y!A to get answers about the RCT, if you are interested:
http://answers!.yahoo!.com/question/index;!.!.!.
Note : Of course, there is a typo : "otth", which should be "tooth" !
Hope this helped :)
Good luck !!
EDIT :
1!. Properly done filling is NOT supposed to shred the floss!. So, there is something wrong with the filling!.
Sometimes it gets hard to adapt the filling to the tooth properly in the gum (gingival) area!. That results in a bulky ledge (which we call an "overhang")!. As a result you may experience the shredding of the floss!. Also, an overhang like that will cause more food impaction and thereby will the risk of recurrent decay and bone loss!.
The best thing will be to go to your dentist and get evaluated!. An x-ray will best reveal the "overhang"!.
2!. Again, unfortunately a little bit of food impaction is unavoidable if you have already suffered bone loss!.
In that case I usually recommend using "Super Floss" or "Periodontal Floss", which is much thicker and cleans the gaps more effectively!.
You can also place a few knots in the regular floss, snap it in and then pull it through the gap!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
However, the teeth should not be apart after the placement of the filling!.
There is a QUICK TEST that you can do with floss to check if the filling was done right!.
WHEN THE FILLING IS NOT DONE RIGHT :
If the piece of floss passes between the teeth without any resistance then the filling was not right!. In other words, the contact between the teeth was not restored properly!.
Teeth normally touch each other without any perceivable gap!. That prevents the food particles from entering the gap easily!.
WHEN THE FILLING IS DONE RIGHT :
If there is good contact resulting in adequate amount of resistance while flossing, then the filling is fine!.
IF THE FILLING IS FINE, THEN WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED !?
You mentioned: "I hadn't seen the dentist in about 2 years due to lack of insurance!. I had a large cavity in my back molar, and the cavity was also above the gum line!."
When you have a large cavity, 2 things happen :
1) Food always gets caught, which in turn results in bone loss in that area if the cavity is not fixed quick enough!.
The dentist can only restore the original shape of the tooth and cannot reverse the bone loss!.
So, now even after placing a filling food is still getting caught in there and causing the gum area to be tender!.
2) The cavity was large enough to be too close to the nerve (pulp) and it was untreated for 2 years!.
Sometimes, placing a filling after cleaning out all the decay cannot guarantee a problem free outcome because the nerve might have gotten irreversibly involved!.
You just didn't realize that because all along it was open and draining by itself!.
Now that the filling has been placed, everything is sealed and even the slightest amount of irritation in the nerve is causing microscopic swelling of the nerve!. Pressure is building up and it has nowhere to drain!.
If that is the case, over time, it will only get worse and you will need Root Canal Treatment (the "nerve treatment") to get the problem fixed!.
The same thing would have happened in a few more months even if your dentist had decided not to do anything about the cavity!.
In that case though, the tooth would have rotted out and you would have had to get the tooth extracted!.
The best thing will be to get in touch with your dentist and get evaluated!.
You can look at the following Y!A to get answers about the RCT, if you are interested:
http://answers!.yahoo!.com/question/index;!.!.!.
Note : Of course, there is a typo : "otth", which should be "tooth" !
Hope this helped :)
Good luck !!
EDIT :
1!. Properly done filling is NOT supposed to shred the floss!. So, there is something wrong with the filling!.
Sometimes it gets hard to adapt the filling to the tooth properly in the gum (gingival) area!. That results in a bulky ledge (which we call an "overhang")!. As a result you may experience the shredding of the floss!. Also, an overhang like that will cause more food impaction and thereby will the risk of recurrent decay and bone loss!.
The best thing will be to go to your dentist and get evaluated!. An x-ray will best reveal the "overhang"!.
2!. Again, unfortunately a little bit of food impaction is unavoidable if you have already suffered bone loss!.
In that case I usually recommend using "Super Floss" or "Periodontal Floss", which is much thicker and cleans the gaps more effectively!.
You can also place a few knots in the regular floss, snap it in and then pull it through the gap!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Your tooth should not be aching!. Call the dentist and go back to have it looked at!. It should not cost you anything for this!.Www@Answer-Health@Com