Finally conquered my fear and went to the dentist for shallow fillings. It’s been a painful nightmare ever since.

[LaMaman]

Please help!
After not going to the dentist for 7 years, a month ago I got composite fillings on one side (#1, 30, 31, 32). The whole side started getting very bite sensitive a week later, so I had the bite adjusted when I went back 2 weeks later to get fillings on the other side (#13, 14, 15, 16). It’s been going downhill from there. My WHOLE entire mouth has been throbbing nonstop, I am now hot and cold sensitive (which has never happened to me), even my front teeth which haven’t been worked on! The pain goes down to my jaw. I went back 3 times for bite adjustments to no avail. He also tried bpm therapy (photobiomodulation). No reaction at the dental office when biting on cotton, tapping, and only very light reaction to cold air. My dentist (30+ years of experience, highly rated) assured me that none of the fillings were deep and remotely near the nerve. Ibuprofen does not touch the pain and I can no longer take it due to stomach issues. I am currently on day 2 of a Medrol pack with no change. Soft food diet for the past 2+ weeks as I can’t bite anything harder than scrambled eggs. Left and right side hurt equally, it’s diffuse and I cannot pinpoint a specific problematic tooth/area. The throbbing is constant and painful but does not wake me up at night.
I regret conquering my fear by actually going. None of the teeth were bothering me before that.

What in the world could the problem be? I can’t live like this.

 

[Gordon]

Given that they're all composites, then I'd take a guess at a bonding failure. Only way to be sure is to remove one, put in a sedative dressing and see what happens. Sorry this has happened to you.

Oh, they are definitely extremely small fillings nowhere near the nerves.

 

[LaMaman]

@Gordon
Thank you. But will I feel a difference by removing just 1 out of 9 since my whole mouth is throbbing with no specific tooth throbbing more than the other?

 

[LaMaman]

The dentist also stated that maybe the material is shrinking and pulling on each tooth. He mention making a slit in each composite as a next step. That does not sound right.

 

[LaMaman]

So this morning the dentist called to have me come in to see how I was doing before the weekend. He just added antibiotics just in case. His next step would be to make a slit in the fillings and refill or pour something in (sorry I’m not sure I fully understood the concept), suspecting that maybe the fillings are contracting and pulling.

 

[Upset person]

@LaMaman First of all. How bad were these cavities that you needed 8 fillings?! Also, to do 4 at a time seems like it would mess any bite. You have extremely shallow fillings yet you are in pain. Terrible. I am not a dentist but I had a similar situation when 3 fillings were removed and replaced on my left side, 2 lower back molars and number 13 above. My bite was completely off with eating a soft piece of fish that evening. I had to go back three times for bite adjustment and still my left side is not right after more than a year. I get a random zing with strawberries, blackberries and blueberries and crunchy foods always feel off on my left side and slight discomfort that is unnerving. The worst of it is I later found out the dentist lied about leakage and decay. 3 independent dentists said they would have never touched those old fillings. I know this because they said there was no decay at all on the X-ray and two teeth on the right side that he said the same thing about are perfectly fine and have normal mineralized pits, not decay and still fine according to my new dentist. Thank God I did not allow him to do my right side. I can chew with happiness on my right but always feel a slight bit off on my left. It did improve over time. Did you try sensodyne because sometimes the drill disrupts dentin tubules and it will take time to heal them before doing anything drastic. If he is a very experienced dentist how could it happen that all the resin is shrinking. Could it be a manufacturing problem with the resin. You have such small shallow fillings, I’d hate to see more harm done. Are you sure you can’t wait and see and try sensodyne. It’s a shame that you were brave enough to go but then this happened. Could it be that you had so much decay that you needed 8 fillings. I’d love to see the before X-rays.

 

[LaMaman]

@Upset person
I’m glad you still have a good side to chew on. Still, you should be able to use both sides comfortably!

My issues were a tiny hole in 2 teeth, 1 chipped old shallow amalgam filling, 1 tiny chip on one tooth, 1 composite that was wearing off, and 3 minor cavities.

3 weeks ago when I started having sensitivity issues, I started alternating 2 sensitivity toothpastes including Sensodyne: one with stannous fluoride, and one with potassium nitrate. Unfortunately, I developed an allergic reaction to one of them (not sure which one), so I had to stop a week ago.

 

[Gordon]

Sensitive toothpastes would be NO help here at all.

Your dentist's theory is a possibility, composite fillings shrink on polymerising, so it's possible they have shrunk enough that they're causing the symptoms you describe, I've heard of it happening but not seen it myself.

Cutting a slit in the composite would potentially help solve the problem if that was the case.

But will I feel a difference by removing just 1 out of 9 since my whole mouth is throbbing with no specific tooth throbbing more than the other?

It would be a way to confirm what I think is the problem with the most minimal intervention, if that particular tooth improved quickly then you'd go ahead and redo the others. If it didn't then you've not dug out 8 fillings or so for nothing