Gap in tooth post-filling?

[erenaxiyrien]

Today I had a filling done in the back of my mouth, on a tooth I had come in to have evaluated for extraction (Tooth #15, with two exterior points and one interior point- weird anatomy, but the other side is like that too, fully formed.). I was extremely surprised that they were apparently able to fill it, since I was pretty sure it was done for (it had developed a cavity that separated the biting surface from the upper portion of the tooth, and stretched across the entire back, around to the left side of the tooth), but they seemed confident that it was a simple task that I shouldn't be too concerned about.

I noticed that the dentist seemed to finish the filling quickly, and just said "We're all done, let's get you out of here", no instructions on whether or not to eat immediately after, or how careful to be with it (since it is a molar...), no time to verify really whether things went right or not, it was just immediately, filling done, time to leave.

Upon coming home and the numbing wearing off, I've noticed that on the left side (against my cheek), the back point of the two points is completely disconnected from the top. My gum had come over it, and there's just a gap between the biting surface and the gumline, where there is definitely not supposed to be gumline. I can't tell how far in this space goes, and I'm kinda panicking because I had gone in with extreme anxiety expecting to be told that I would need to go to oral surgery to have it extracted, come out hopeful that they'd managed to repair it, and now it feels like everything is crashing down again and that I shouldn't eat or drink anything for fear of it getting stuck in that hole, or eat anything even moderately hard because teeth do not float.

I'm worrying over it and questioning whether I chose right (because everyone I had asked said this dentist was extremely good, and the reviews of his practice seemed to reflect that) or if this dentist just did this to get some money out of the visit (the evaluation was going to cost nothing) and didn't really care whether it turned out right or not because it'd just mean another visit.

(But of course there is also the possibility the dentist does know what he was doing? I've heard of letting the gum grow over a root if it isn't infected.. but this doesn't seem quite right?)

 

[erenaxiyrien]

An update- I've done some thinking about what all was said and sadly have come to the conclusion this is likely NOT normal and now I'll likely have to have an extraction on top of this mess, because I'm really not confident in letting this dentist (or any dentist) fix it.

I had come in with temporary cement to keep the cavity from getting food in it, and during the exam, they used the pick to remove it. They said this was for them to understand the depth of the cavity, and that's fine I guess... except, this was originally just an evaluation, no treatment was planned today.

They pretty much jumped on the "we can fix it right now!" train from the beginning, and I wanted to believe in their confidence that they were able to fix the tooth. I remembered my research- perfect records, no lawsuits, incredible reviews... unlike the vast majority of dentists here, and I wanted desperately to believe. To not be afraid.

From the way things were said, I had to assume they were offering to do a filling because it was what they had time for, and that they would not be able to perform the extraction right then, even if they were able to do so in-house, and I would have to go home with the temporary cement removed, and wait until an additional appointment was available.

Considering the temporary cement was the only thing helping me hold onto sanity the entire time before the tooth was treated, and with the removal of the temporary cement... was now a massive crater of a hole that might become infected and I would have an absolute anxious fit over on the way home, never mind the fact that I would have no idea when it could be treated, I felt that I had to do whatever procedure was offered to me today.

The assistant and dentist could both tell I was horribly anxious, and I feel like I may have been wrongly coerced into this decision- I specifically expressed to them that the tooth was not painful, just that I was absolutely horrified of having a hole there that might become infected. And to me, an extraction site that will heal is far less dangerous in my mind than a hole in a tooth going to who-knows-where.

During the filling, the dentist mentioned the tooth "not being a DOB and might be a DOL instead". Not being a dentist, I sure didn't know what those were until I looked it up, and now I'm just kind of frustrated and upset at the fact that the tooth was technically both of those, and now the Buccal side is just chilling with no treatment.

They did not use any wire or hook or anything to move the gum from where it had grown into the cavity to fill in beneath it, and there's a decently sizable gap between the biting surface and the gum that was left behind, plenty enough for, if it isn't filled in with resin above that point, food to get trapped and likely result in a nasty infection. The back of the tooth also appears to be the same way, with a large ball of resin stuck to the back (I assume for bulking, but it doesn't seem to be done in a way that makes much sense at all) and the gums raised well above this random ball of resin, creating a ditch where things might get stuck. I do understand that the gumline at the back may have been raised, but it definitely was not touched on the Buccal side.

The mature, idealistic part of me wants to assume it was just an oversight... that it was an accident, or that they couldn't easily access that side and left it for some reason (I do have the mouth of maybe a third grader in terms of size...) and that if I contact them they might get me an appointment to fix the other side/give me information on how to care for it in the meantime... but still... you wrote it down correctly to begin with, why would you assume it was entirely wrong and not even check back to make sure?!

The cynical part of me that's been screwed over by the last three dentists I've seen is wondering if they knew this would cause the exact thing I was worried about- a hole that definitely shouldn't be there and in my anxiety ridden mind, would demand prompt attention to the point of raking in some extra $$$ from the emergency visit it would cause...

Rather unfortunately, my dad is going to this dentist in just two days for extractions in preparation for dentures, and I don't know whether I can in any good conscience let him do that... if they did this with a filling, how badly are they going to mess up multiple extractions on a man that has to take blood thinners?!

So now I have to figure out some way to keep myself sane (because there's still a huge, uncovered, infection prone food trap in my mouth) until I'm able to see someone about it again without the temporary cement I was relying on before. I don't even want to eat anything, or drink anything other than water with it being like this.

 

[Gordon]

I can't honestly make any sense of what you're asking. Maybe a photo or two would be helpful?