Anxiety over whether or not to get filling

[catinabox]

Hi,

I've posted here before and found it very helpful, so thank you in advance for any advice! I went to the dentist about a couple weeks ago and got my permanent crown for my root canal finally. I mentioned I was having some on/off again pain around an upper tooth on the left and enquired whether it the pain is caused by something that needs filling or if it's a gum issue. The dentist couldn't see any issues from the outside so took an x-ray but said the x-ray was a little unclear as to whether there was an issue or not (he wasn't 100% sure as it was hard to tell - I think there is a tooth overlaying so although it looked like there could be an issue it also was difficult to confirm). He said I can get it filled if I want but if there's no filling needed then it would be unnecessary. The issue is that he is leaving the dental surgery so I won't be able to get any further help from him should this issue continue or if the pain worsens etc. Also I wanted to kind of get whatever work needed done on this round of dental treatment because if I have to go back in future I'd have to pay for the treatment again. (since I paid the max cost on the NHS in the UK for the crown).

What would happen if I got the filling and didn't need it? The risks of leaving it if I need a filling I can kind of understand but I'm wondering if it's bad to get a filling for a tooth that might not be at that point. I have this appointment booked in for in a week's time so I need to decide if I go for it or cancel it, but I wanted to figure out the benefits vs the risks.

 

[Gordon]

What would happen if I got the filling and didn't need it?

Fillings don't last forever, (in theory at least, I've got 50+ year old amalgams in my teeth )
Every time it needed replaced it would get a bit bigger. Eventually leading to a root canal or crown. Maybe. But unless you've got a high decay rate, probably not.

 

[catinabox]

So basically if I got a normal tooth without a filling filled when it didn't need to, it would probably be weaker than if I had left it (assuming it didn't have any issues?)
I'd say I have a higher decay rate as my teeth seem to get more issues than most (or I just have bad genetics lol.)
I'm just not sure what the best thing to do is, do I just leave it and address it if the issue crops up later? Or get the filling on a whim "just in case" it needs it? I don't wanna waste the dentists time either but I also don't wanna ruin my mouth

 

[Gordon]

So basically if I got a normal tooth without a filling filled when it didn't need to, it would probably be weaker than if I had left it (assuming it didn't have any issues?)

Yes, basically this. However, you're having pain, so it's not likely to be nothing it might just be some gum recession but it should be investigated further.