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Horrible Pain in tooth 3 weeks after filling....

M

mhp8982

Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
41
First off, I am calling my dentist first thing in the morning to try and get in! But I'm slightly terrified of what the news is going to be after I have searched the internet! So, I was looking for some advice and thoughts to help me calm down and relax until I get there!

Just over 3 weeks ago, (December 17th to be exact) I went to my dentist to get a couple fillings done. No big deal, I've had plenty of fillings. I get done and go home.. of course there was some pain from where they gave me the shots to numb me, but everything else was fine. So I've been going about life like normal..

Well.. last Monday I noticed some slight sensitivity to hot/cold on both sides of my mouth.. it kinda went away.. Tuesday it moved to the left side only, still only hot/cold sensitivity.. nothing major.. but late in the evening when I got ready for bed, it started throbbing! I had no idea what was going on.. I got some ice and held it to my face, gargled warm salt water and took some motrin, the motrin calmed it down, but I wasn't sure where it was coming from, my husband told me I should probably call the dentist if it's bothering me that bad. I said, well I'll wait and see if it subsides by Thursday (my dentist is closed on Wednesdays).. plus I wanted to give it a couple days. Well Wednesday it hurt, but I took motrin and was fine, still able to eat and everything on it. I took some more before bed Wednesday night, and woke up feeling fine. The medicine had wore off and I was feeling okay.... Until about 4:00 it started hurting a bit more, but I thought well maybe it's getting better. Then Friday was the same, woke up fine.. then about 3:30 or 4:00 right before I was leaving work, it was throbbing again, too late to call the dentist. So by now I"d have to suffer through this weekend.

So Saturday I was in so much pain, I just wanted to sleep. I'm finally able to tell that I think it's coming from this top back tooth, 3 from the back (including wisdom, I have all of mine, they came in straight with no problems), he filled this tooth, it was a pretty big filling, but he didn't express any concerns with it. Another one, he told me I needed a crown on eventually, but that was on the other side. That one hasn't caused me any issues. Now, when I take motrin, It takes the edge off the pain, so it's not excruciating, unless I bite down or rub another tooth against that specific tooth, I can't eat on that side at all anymore without it hurting, it's way too sensitive.

So yeah, I'm definitely calling my dentist in the morning, but I am terrified after what I've read. He didn't say it was close to the nerve or anything? I'm hoping I don't need a root canal! Is there anything else it could possibly be? What might he do? Could it be an infection of some sort? Any help or advice would be wonderful! Will he be able to tell by xray what's wrong? I have had plenty of fillings and have never experienced anything like this before! So I'm pretty scared!

I would greatly appreciate any help or advice you can give me! thanks for reading!!
 
It could be that the nerve in the tooth has reacted adversely to the filling which was placed. If the dentist does not expect it to settle down and the nerve appears to be dying of its own accord, then a root canal would probably be the best way to save the tooth. Since you can cope with fillings with no anxiety/fear, you should approach a root canal in the same way...it is not a big deal if done competently; and in the USA it is quite common for patients to be referred to endodontists who do them all day long and are therefore likely very skilled. The horror stories (apart from cost) relating to them are really from the early days - you can expect it to be little different to a filling with the modern techniques.
The dentist will likely evaluate your tooth by doing various tests to determine where the pain is coming from (sometimes it appears to come from the wrong tooth), hot and cold sensitivity tests, percussion tests, before deciding whether it needs a root canal or whether it may settle down in due course.
 
You could get lucky and the filling is too high and needs adjusted. After a few days of "rubbing it the wrong way" it can start to get pretty sore. Good luck, let us know how you get on.

rp
 
I sure hope that's all it is! But if I need a root canal.. I'll deal with it. I just really hope not.

I got in at 11 today.. so I will let you all know what happens!
 
Well.. it wasn't the news I wanted. The tooth is dying. They put me on an antibiotic and will be doing a root canal on Thursday.. and I'll have to have a crown put on it.

I've never had one of these... please help me understand? I'm terrified. I've always been fine with fillings.. but this is definitely new. I told them they could relax me.. my husband is going to take me.. I'm scared, but I'm also ready to get it over with!!
 
I've never had one of these... please help me understand? I'm terrified. I've always been fine with fillings.. but this is definitely new. I told them they could relax me.. my husband is going to take me.. I'm scared, but I'm also ready to get it over with!!
I was terrified when my dentist told me I needed one, but once it was over it really wasn't that much different than a filling. He did different things, of course, but from my end in the chair, it didn't make a big difference.
 
Again a crown after a root canal is pretty straightforward since the nerve is gone.
I would question whether the preparation of the tooth for the crown should be done at the root canal appointment though..which is what you are implying will happen.....some dentists in USA seem to do this.
Others do the root canal and wait to see the tooth has settled for a couple of months or longer before prepping it for the crown.

You should also discuss what type of crown you are getting - there are many different sorts and some require less tooth structure to be shaved away than others.

In my part of the world the first appointment after taking antibiotics (all good), would simply be to remove the nerve to cure your toothache and to find and disinfect the root canals INSIDE the tooth and to then send you away with a medicated dressing/filling, no external crown work/shaving would be done at this stage. The only part of a crown it might make sense to me to do at that stage would be preparation for a post to support a crown maybe although I have never experienced this. This first appointment could typically take 90 minutes on a molar tooth with multiple canals. A couple of weeks later there would be a second appointment where more shaping of the canals would happen and if all infection clear, the filling could be placed - the crown preparation could then be done at this stage or you could wait for it to settle first which would be my preference. Doing a crown on a settled tooth which has had a root canal already is very easy on you during and after.
Good luck.
 
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Oh no, I didn't mean to imply that. They told me I wouldn't get the crown on for at least a month after the root canal. And based on the what they showed me.. there would probably be 3 visits. The root canal, molding the tooth for the crown, then the crown.

My question is, will they put a temporary filling in until I go in for the molding and crown? Will I be able to use the tooth to eat and chew until I get the crown on it? I'm hoping I won't be living for a month or two with open holes in my tooth? He said it has 3 canals.

Also, I must say I've only taken 2 antibiotic pills and i'm already feeling a little relief. Although the motrin might not have totally worn off yet. They offered me something stronger, but I can't do strong pain meds like vicadin. I will be so sick!
 
They will put a temporary filling in until your dentist does the final restoration. The idea is to seal the canal so no further bacteria seeps down there. You should be able to eat although I've read some recommendations not to chew until it's restored.
 
They will put a temporary filling in until your dentist does the final restoration. The idea is to seal the canal so no further bacteria seeps down there. You should be able to eat although I've read some recommendations not to chew until it's restored.

I think I've read somewhere that the tooth is taken 'out of the bite' at the first rct appointment so you can still chew without too much danger. From my own experience I can confirm that chewing is not an issue.
 
what does "out of the bite" mean? I will still have a full tooth there right? I know these may be really silly questions. I'm just so nervous. Will they usually go ahead and fill the canals once they are done cleaning out the roots? In that visit?

They won't file it down to put the crown on until they actually put the crown on, right? I'm hoping I"m not going to have to live with a nub of a tooth until they put the crown on.

Another question I have since I've never had a crown. I looked at the website Altari shared.. and how on earth do the crowns stay? they took a little nub of a tooth and put this crown over it to make it look like a real tooth. But how do they stay put? Are they really as durable as a real tooth?

I was also terrified by that site.. because they talk about when root canals fail, even though they only say 5% of the time.. it scares me! My dentist said, at my age (28) there really shouldn't be too many problems with the root canal.. and I've been good at keeping up on dental care.. I just inherited my dads super sensitive teeth! It stinks!
 
Also, which crown materials require less tooth to be shaved?
 
Gold lol but only suitable on molars really.
 
Yeah, this is one of my back large teeth, it has 3 canals in it. I doubt I'll be doing gold! lol

Can anyone help answer the questions in my last post before that one?
 
what does "out of the bite" mean? I will still have a full tooth there right? I know these may be really silly questions. I'm just so nervous. Will they usually go ahead and fill the canals once they are done cleaning out the roots? In that visit?
If your dentist is like mine, after the first visit they'll place a temporary filling. The filling is slightly smaller than it needs to be so you can't bite on it the same way did before. In my case, it was like he shaved a few centimeters off to top of the tooth. I still could bite down on it, but it wasn't an appropriate biting surface.

You will have a full tooth. It's just like they put in a huge filling (with the caveat of the above).

They fill the canals as soon as they are done cleaning them. They'll also disinfect them as they go along. This keeps bacteria from building up.

Another question I have since I've never had a crown. I looked at the website Altari shared.. and how on earth do the crowns stay? they took a little nub of a tooth and put this crown over it to make it look like a real tooth. But how do they stay put? Are they really as durable as a real tooth?
They use super-duper cement to get the crown on. It will stay put.

I was also terrified by that site.. because they talk about when root canals fail, even though they only say 5% of the time.. it scares me! My dentist said, at my age (28) there really shouldn't be too many problems with the root canal.. and I've been good at keeping up on dental care.. I just inherited my dads super sensitive teeth! It stinks!
That really scares me, too, but I think it depends on how bad off you are before you get it done. Since you're doing it before you have any real issues with it (painful infections, destroyed tooth, that kind of thing) you're probably in a good position.
 
Yeah, this is one of my back large teeth, it has 3 canals in it. I doubt I'll be doing gold! lol

Can anyone help answer the questions in my last post before that one?

Gold alloy doesn't necessarily cost any more than the other high quality options. It's the material of choice (high quality say 70% gold) for many dentists, should their own molars need crowns.
Would seriously consider it. It has many other advantages - the only downside is aesthetic.
 
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