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pain two weeks after filling

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omgseriouslywtf

Junior member
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
10
On December 5th, I went to my dentist and got two fillings done. One on the top left side of my mouth, one on the bottom right. The one on the top left was pretty deep. The one on the bottom right isn't bothering me at all.. Right after the appointment when I got home, my mouth was in immense pain, even before the numbing went completely away. It persisted for that entire day. The next day I was fine, just had a lot of sensitivity to cold, so avoided getting cold things on that top left tooth. About a week later I started waking up in the morning with a lot of pain on my entire left side of my mouth. The pain radiated through all the teeth, up into my jaw joint, and into my ear at times. There was also a little bump where the needle went into my cheek. I figured this may have been a bite problem since my bite didn't feel right. So, yesterday I went back into my dentist and he filed the tooth a bit and it felt okay. Today I woke up with less pain, but now that it's nighttime the pain is back again. I'm still not using that top left tooth. I'm wondering how long it will take for all this pain to go away? Should I go in and get it filed down again? It still feels a tad out of place, but not too much. Does a high filling REALLY cause this much pain? Cold sensitivity doesn't even seem to be so bad anymore, it's just the jaw joint pain and the feeling that all my teeth on the left side are irritated. My dentist also talked to me about my wisdom teeth, said the bottom ones are impacted but may never need to come out if they don't cause problems. Does this sound like a problem wisdom teeth could cause? He didn't really seem concerned by the x-rays... I just don't know what's going on. Christmas is next week and I really don't want to be in pain popping ibuprofen constantly and rubbing orajel all over my mouth.....
 
Welcome to the forums! :welcome: I'm so sorry to hear that you're having some pain after a filling. I know how terrible that can feel. :XXLhug: A high filling definitely can contribute to problems afterwards so it would be prudent to have it rechecked to see whether there might be some more adjustments needed.

People who tend to grind their teeth down into flat planes on the biting surfaces seem to have a worse time with any slight changes in their bite arrangements that a new, high filling can bring. Any new variation in the occlusal scheme can result in terrible achey pains in the jaw and teeth. One other possibility is that there could be an issue with the nerve, but I would definitely first see if it's more a bite issue before going down that road.

Although the wisdom teeth can create similar aches and pains, I would say it's probably not related as your dentist didn't mention anything. Please do contact your dentist to seek further advice. I hope that helps. :XXLhug: Take care, and I'm sure everything will be taken care of soon.
 
Okay here's a little update and I have a few more questions.. Yesterday I wasn't feeling much pain at all. Only had to take one ibuprofen compared to the 4 or 5 a day I'd been taking before. Anbesol also seems to help a lot, so I've been using that rather than ibuprofen if I can. So, not as much pain as before. The pain is definitely starting to go away. Before the pain was radiating through all the teeth on my left side, and now it just seems as though I have pain in my left bottom jaw (had filling in top left tooth) in the fleshy area under my chin beside the bone. I'm wondering what this could be from? I didn't get a filling on the bottom, not sure why my bottom jaw hurts. Could that be from the bite readjusting? I think I may go into the dentist on Monday or Tuesday to readjust the bite again if it still hurts by then. But for now, just wondering what could be the cause of the lower jaw pain in the fleshy area beside the jaw bone under my chin? Thanks for your help!
 
It could be related to muscle soreness from grinding at night if your jaw is trying to "adjust" the filling. Often what happens is that any unusual spots will be noticed and the jaw tends to try to grind away at it. One other possibility might be that any high spots could be placing excess forces on the lower tooth making the area tender. Depending on how high the fillings is, sometimes the teeth can adjust for it either by wearing the filling down or actually moving slightly.

As it was a deep cavity on your upper left, do keep a close eye on it as sometimes the nerve can start breaking down resulting in similar aches and increased sensitivities.
 
The tooth itself isn't that sensitive to cold anymore. It used to be very sharp pains, and now I barely feel a thing. My only issue now is the jaw pain. But even that is intermittent. I haven't had to take an ibuprofen today, and only used anbesol once. I'm just wondering, how will I know if it's the nerve dying or if it's still my jaw? Is there a certain amount of time I should be waiting for this pain to keep dying down? When I went to the dentist, he looked at the tooth, said it looked a bit high, filed it down and didn't even take an x-ray. I told him of my complaints. If the nerve was dying, or the filling seemed deep enough to do that much damage, wouldn't he have taken an x-ray to find out if everything was okay? Also, what would it look/feel like to have an infected tooth? I'm just wondering because now I feel like I'm getting a cold. My ear aches a bit on that side (although I think that's jaw related) and my one nostril on that side seems a bit stuffed/dry? Could that just be from that jaw acting up as well getting into my sinuses? I don't know if it's related. I don't have a fever or anything. Sorry for all the questions, just worried. I've never had anything like this happen before with a "routine" (as my dentist said) filling.
 
Well, my pain went from non-existent in the filled tooth, to bad hot sensitivity rather than cold, and now it is just throbbing whenever it is touched. I'm assuming this means root canal. And I'm terrified of course. I called my dentist late last night and left a message to see if he could fit me in today or tomorrow before the holiday to get an x-ray done. I don't know if he will start any treatment, but I really want the pain gone. Am I right in assuming I need a root canal? Can a tooth really get this bad 2 weeks after a filling? How quickly will I need the root canal done if that's what I need? Ugh I'm so scared, this is what I didn't want to happen..
 
I've been in agony for weeks after a root canal!! I had an X ray a week after but the dentist couldn't see any reason for the pain. My whole left cheek & jaw ache (root canal in top near front left) the side of my nose feels like something is sticking in it (from mouth) and my eye weeps! My GP gave me anti-biotics which helped a bit now I've got strong painkillers until I can summon up the courage to go to the dentist again. My phobia is severe & it took all my willpower to get the root canal done & now I'm in more pain than before the treatment! Its knocked my confidence terribly, I'm depressed & tearful. I've been advised to get myself physically &mentally stronger so I can again tackle my phobia & get an appointment. I was interested in the gel you use as I can't take ibuprophen & don't want to rely on painkillers. Can I get it in a chemist?
I'd appreciate your advice. Sorry to go on for so long but I'm really low after this and my dental phobia is at an all time low.
This forum is comforting as at least I know I'm not the only one with problems.
:redface::(:cry:
 
Xrays in most cases won't reveal too much if it's quite soon after treatment as any infected areas take time to show up. They can show proximities to structures like how deep the filling was and things like that. Throbbing pain, sensitivity, and spontaneous aches can be signs that something is not going well although again a high bite can mimmick similar signs as a tooth abscessing so it's best to have it checked out.

If it is quite bad do see what your dentist can do or seek advice from an emergency clinic. Although antibiotics may or may not help if the pain is due to inflammation of the nerve, they might try that in the mean time. Pain killers like Ibuprofen might help, but they only would temporarily address the discomfort.

nosmile4me, do seek out some dental help as soon as possible as it shouldn't be that bad for that long after a root canal. Ambesol is just a topical anesthetic and should be available in most pharmacies.
 
zzzdentist
thank you for replying but at the moment I am too tearful and generally run down to go back to the dentist. It took so much courage to get to the dentist for the root canal (which wasn't a pleasant procedure) that my phobia has returned ten fold and I can't bring myself to go back at this time. I'm sorry I'm such a coward but my phobia runs deep due to bad experiences in the past, unsucessful treatments, bad tempered dentists and much more.
I hope you understand my fears. Once I feel stronger in myself I will go back.In the meantime thanks for your comments.:redface::(:cry:
 
went to the dentist yesterday. he tested cold sensitivity, tapped the tooth, and did an x-ray. the filling is very close to the nerve, and he said an abscess is starting to form at the base of the root. going in tomorrow (CHRISTMAS EVE) to have a root canal. i am beyond terrified. i could throw up. haha but at least i caught it as soon as possible and it is now going to be taken care of and hopefully with minimal pain since the abscess isn't fully there yet.. i always seem to get nauseous while in the dentists chair because of my anxiety. is it safe for me to take half a gravol before going in to have the procedure done?
 
Probably too late now, but yes, just mention it to the dentist.
 
yes too late! i didn't end up taking one. everything went fine. just sore and headachey now. :)
 
Have you considered getting the tooth pulled?

I had a deep filling done 2 weeks ago , can't afford a root canal . Been in an out of pain for the last 2 weeks very bad pain the first night when the freezing wore off.

Got an appointment in a couple of days
 
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