Can anyone advise?

[Jenni32]

Hi,
I had a deep filling in first upper molar in August. It has ached intermittently, I’ve had it checked and nothing can be seen wrong on X-ray.

I’ve had a bad cold and the tooth is giving me problems again. I wondered was it sinus related. Another visit to the dentist and nothing showing as wrong, he did an OPG X-ray this time. He said sinuses weren’t particularly cloudy but that didn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t sinus trouble. It just seems a bit coincidental that it’s happened after a deep filling.

The tooth is slightly sensitive, but that only lasts a few seconds it doesn’t linger. The area under my cheekbone and above where the gum starts hurts to press.

My dentist mentioned possible clenching and the pain being from ligaments.

He is an experienced dentist and I do trust him. I’m just so fed up. Had a bad experience last year with a bad abscess that led to an extraction, left me very anxious.

Do any dentists reading think it would be worth me paying fir a CT on the tooth, maybe see if that shows anything?

Thanks.

 

[BlacJAC]

I would maybe let the cold settle down if the pain is bearable before making any rash decisions or spending more money. Entirely plausible that it's the sinuses. But large fillings do carry more risk of nerve damage or irritation afterwards.

 

[Gordon]

A CT won't tell you anything useful, they have very limited benefit in dentistry. What would give you some useful information would be an electric pulp test.

Has that been done?

 

[Jenni32]

No, I don’t think it has.

I’ve had a cold test (is it a spray?) numerous times, which the tooth had very little reaction to.

I think he also used something hot but I’m not sure what it was?

I do have a slight sensitivity to hot tea, but it only lasts a second.

 

[BlacJAC]

As the current root canal king of Scotland, sensitivity to heat in one tooth is rarely a good sign. Cold sensitivity can have numerous causes and some being benign. Heat, well, I've learned is usually a bad sign. Heat sensitivity is fine just after having a filling as the nerve may be irritated with all the work, but a while after the event something isn't right.

 

[Gordon]

Hot and cold tests are not really useful, they can give a bit of a pointer but they are a bit crude.
The electronic test is a bit more accurate.
The other thing you could try is to have the dentist make a test cavity into the tooth, without local. It's a bit extreme but does give a definitive answer!

 

[Jenni32]

Thanks. Think I might give the test cavity a miss!

 

[BlacJAC]

Wow, that gives me a toothache just reading that. It's the sort of thing Victorians would have done

 

[Enarete]

Wow, that gives me a toothache just reading that. It's the sort of thing Victorians would have done

I can't imagine that the dentist keeping on drilling while you're in pain is what is meant, but I appreciate that this is how it must look like in your mind reading it. I suspect it's more about the dentist going slowly and you having a stop sign so that they stop immediately once you have the answer.

 

[Gordon]

Yes, you agree a stop sign and stop as soon as the patient feels anything. Usually just takes a few seconds. Unfortunately sometimes if you want the correct outcome you have to put up with the difficult stuff.