Dentist left a space between tooth and filling

[Soma]

Possible fracture?

Hello. I've been reading a lot of topics in this forum for the past couple of days, and I want to say this is an amazing forum, with amazing questions, answers and people..that being said.. A few days ago I was eating McDonalds Fries and nuggets and I noticed a slight *zing* of pain on one of my back molars. It was not overwhelmingly painful by any means, but enough to get my attention. Later that night I was eating tacos and felt the same *zing* in the same spot. I've had a lot of basic dental work done in the past so I assumed it was a cavity or a fractured tooth (the tooth has 2 decent sized fillings in it) that night I brushed, flossed and rinsed - and noticed some food residue (I had been eating almonds prior to the other food, and figured maybe thats what may have fractured the tooth) - it looked almost like almond residue. The next day I called my dentist and said I had some concerns, the soonest they can get me in is the 16th of this month to look me over. But since then I've been testing the tooth, chewed some gum, cheerios, oatmeal, tacos again today, pizza..and as of right now the zing is gone, but my upper and lower gum now have a dull ache (possibly from all my probing and testing?) - and when I woke up today my ear on that side felt 'full' and was ringing a bit, it took a few hours for it to return to normal. Not really any pain when tapping on the tooth, No real sensitivity to hot or cold, I did hold a mouth full of extremely cold water in my mouth for a while to see what would happen and the chill lingered for about 45 seconds after that - it was ice water thought.. So I'm wondering what this sounds like to you? If it was fractured wouldn't it hurt every time I bite into food? I know the fact that it has fillings isn't a good thing. I just don't know what I'm in for, and now I have 10 more days to stew in stress, I think I'm making the situation worse when the thing that originally got my attention isn't even the problem right now. Any thoughts are welcomed, Thank you for your time.

 

[drhirst]

Re: Possible fracture?

Hi,

Your guess may well be right. From you symptoms, I would suspect a crack in one of the remaining walls of enamel. Another possibility is there might be some decay under the existing fillings.
To get the "zing" you mentioned from a fractured tooth, you have to apply force at just the right point and angle. Quite often stuff like muesli finds it, as it spreads out on the tooth and transmits the forces in all directions.
From the degree of pain and the infrequency of it, I would say that if it is a crack, then it has not hit the nerve. It this is the case, the ideal treatment would be a crown oronlay, however, if costs are an issue it may be possible to stabilise it with a filling that overlays the cracked enamel.

It should be fine until the 16th. Sometimes, a corner of enamel pings off, but people often say it feels more comfortable to bite on when this happens. However, it should be stabilised soonish.

Hope this helps

Lincoln

 

[Soma]

Re: Possible fracture?

Thank you Lincoln, Your reply was helpful and as reassuring as I am able to be reassured for now. After my visit I will post a reply to this and let people know the outcome, in case they happen to experience the same things as me. For now I just have to try to quiet my worries down for 8 more days until I get in there, I drive myself crazy over these things. Thanks again.

 

[Soma]

Pain after fillings

Hello. So I had 2 fillings done today. One was a new cavity, and one was a cracked filling replacement. The dentist said both were "medium" size work. Both upper teeth, one of each side. I had them numbed up..but one wouldn't numb completely even after two tries, I said just to finish it and I'd deal with the pain. That was about 5 hours ago, the novicane is starting to wear off now..and I'm in a whole lot of pain. May jaw hurts to open and back teeth have a pretty powerful ache. I've had a lot of fillings in the past, but I don't remember them hurting quite like this after. I'm new to the area and a friend referred me to this dentist, so I'm not too sure how well his work is otherwise. He apparently used a water/lazer instead of a traditional drill? I can't open my mouth wide enough to see what kind of fillings me used. Thanks for your time.

 

[Geraint]

Re: Pain after fillings

Sometimes there can be pain after a filling particularly if the filling is deep, you may find more information in other parts of this forum. I hope it is better by now.

 

[Soma]

Re: Pain after fillings

It's been about half a week, the pain is less constant now, but the teeth are still sensitive to hot and cold, especially one of them. They also hurt to chew, i tried eating pizza today and gave up after one slice. They don't hurt to touch, only if im chewing, then there is a slight dull ache for a while after.

Another thing I'm noticing is that my bottom teeth and jaw hurt too, it feels like it was possibly due to the injection? I did read some info on this site about "high fillings" and Im thinking my bite feels a bit off too. Everything just feels like a mess, I'm scaring myself into thinking Ill need a RC. Does the fact that the tooth wouldnt freeze mean that there is a better chance that something was wrong with the tooth that a filling couldnt fix?

I'm seeing my old trusty dentist Monday, he said he would have a look at it to see if its the bite or not. Should I ask him to do xrays? will that show if the pulp is in danger? Possibly the other dentist drilled too close? I have no money for all of this, I had to borrow money for the fillings, if I need a RC theres no way I can afford it.

I just dont know what to think or do at this point.

 

[Soma]

This has been a really stressful month for me, I've had to sit in the dentist chair 4 times and I'm still not if this saga is over. (Praying it is) A dentist replaced two filling, top molars on each side, one of which the tooth wouldn't freeze. This did not help my fear at all. For a week afterwards the tooth was pretty sensitive to hot and cold, and mildly to bite pressure, on top of that it had a constant dull ache. Eventually my bottom molars started to ache a little bit too, though not sensitive to chewing or tempature. I was freaking out thinking I had an abscess or something, but I don't trust that dentist, so I gathered the nerve to get checked out by my childhood dentist (who lives 3.5 hours away) - he took an xray and said that the dentist didn't put enough filling in, he showed me the space on the xrays. He said the tooth next to it also had a hole in the filling. I let him replace the fillings. It's been about 6 hours, the freeze has pretty much completely worn off, what I feel now is pain at the injection site and a little in the teeth he worked on. I tested the tooth with some warm tea and to my surprise I didn't feel any jolts, perhaps the freeze is still helping with that, I don't know. My question is could that space between the tooth and the filling be what was causing all the symptoms I was feeling? I can't handle endo or extractions, not awake anyways. So I'm praying this could be the fix that I've been hoping for.

 

[comfortdentist]

It could be the holes that made it sensitive but in reading your above statements what stuck in my mind was that your diet sounds pretty poor

 

[Soma]

Tonight I noticed that way up in the top of my mouth, between my cheek and gum, (as far as my finger can go) around the area of the novocaine injection, I can feel a small hard lump. I did have four injections there in the past 2 weeks. Do you think I may have an infection from that? Or does this sound like a traditional abscess? There were no signs of abscess in my xrays from last week. ..Unless my diet is what is causing my dental issues, I don't really see what the point in addressing it is. To me living a shorter life, doing and eating the things that you enjoy, holds more value than a living a long life while depriving yourself of those enjoyments - just for the sake of living more years.

 

[brit]

Tonight I noticed that way up in the top of my mouth, between my cheek and gum, (as far as my finger can go) around the area of the novocaine injection, I can feel a small hard lump. I did have four injections there in the past 2 weeks. Do you think I may have an infection from that? Or does this sound like a traditional abscess? There were no signs of abscess in my xrays from last week. ..Unless my diet is what is causing my dental issues, I don't really see what the point in addressing it is. To me living a shorter life, doing and eating the things that you enjoy, holds more value than a living a long life while depriving yourself of those enjoyments - just for the sake of living more years.

I apologise as a DFC moderator for that judgemental remark about your diet. It wasn't as though you posted about eating meringues and sucking boiled sweets all day long. No idea about the abscess - not a dentist.

 

[Soma]

I'm sorry, I feel like I'm annoying people on this forum. It's just that I'm worried sick and paranoid about this whole situation and no matter where I go, or who I talk to I can't get any answers. I went back to the dentist who did the original filling today, to have him take a look at the painful lump. He rubbed his finger around it and said is this it? I said yes. He said it's your bone, its supposed to be there. I asked why it hurts and why its not on the other side. He said I had a canker sore up there, and that I had the same bone on the other side (I dont feel one there..) - I wasn't in the chair for more than 30 seconds, he made me feel like a hypochondriac and a waste of time. I will never go back to him again. In the meantime I'm still beyond puzzled and scared by it all. I've decided I'll just save money and everyone's time and just deal with it until it gets worse, if it does get worse.

 

[carole]

You are not annoying me. I understand what you are going through. I went 20 months with an untreated abscess. I was going to see my dentist at the time and I was treated like a pest he even hurt me doing a check up with the probe. The only way I have been able to cure my dental problems has been to change dentists. I am now with a very good dentist and he has spent 4 months leading up to christmas treating the problem that now is cured. I would advise you to find a dentist that you feel comfortable with and will take the time to listen to you and treat your concerns seriously. I hope you get sorted out soon. Don't let it get worse it's not the answer. If you ring or e-mail dentists in your area explaining your problem and see what feedback you get.

 

[brit]

I understand as well - usually dental issues go on several weeks, if the first fix doesn't work - I have also been there.
I would also recommend that you try a different dentist. The incompetent original one is bound to be curt because they are often like 'insecure prima donnas' and you 'dared' to get your fillings redone by your childhood dentist because he had left you in pain. I think you were right to do this but doing this kinda terminates your relationship with him. The curtness ensures you don't return.

There are loads of dentists out there, try another one. Either it is an abcess or it isn't, an impartial decent dentist can tell you this. Has the sensitivity from the new fillings now settled down?
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