Got amalgam filling 4 months ago - still sensitivity & pain

[cloudeleven]

In late June I had teeth #4 and 5 filled with small amalgam fillings. (I'm 30 years old by the way) Each tooth had 2 surfaces that needed to be filled. The fillings were in between the teeth, and the dentist said they were small cavities. I had no pain or sensitivity at all with these teeth before I got the fillings, but ever since I got the fillings I've had cold sensitivity (such as when I eat frozen blueberries) and mild pressure pain (mainly when I floss between those teeth). A few nights ago I was eating ice cream and had to eat it on the other side of my mouth due to the sensitivity with those fillings. By pressure pain, I mean that occasionally that filling hurts a little bit when I eat or chew gum, and there's definitely some pain in between teeth 4 and 5 when I floss (the fillings are in between those teeth). There is some resistance there when I floss, but the floss doesn't shred because I use Oral B Satin floss. The pain doesn't arise spontaneously or wake me up. I thought maybe the problems would go away eventually, which is why I've waited this long.

I've been using Sensodyne Pronamel toothpaste daily twice a day as my only toothpaste since I got the fillings, but I'm still having the pain and sensitivity. The pain and sensitivity to cold only lasts a few seconds, but the sensitivity does hurt sometimes to the point where I want to eat very cold food on the other side of my mouth.

1.) Would replacing the amalgam fillings with composite possibly be a fix? Or maybe removing the old amalagam fillings and putting new amalgam fillings in with a soothing agent in the base of the new filling might help?

2.) What if nothing can be done? Will it just stay this way forever, or eventually get better?

Should I go back to my dentist about this? I guess it's not really a serious problem, more of a daily annoyance that a filling is causing me problems that I didn't have before I got the filling. I've had several amalgam fillings before by other dentists but never had these problems before.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hey
First of all, an obvious remark: Without checking your teeth it is impossible to give you a responsible answer. So after this word of cautious I will let you what I think:
It sounds like the filling is a bit moving in the tooth (dentists call it a rocking movement). This happens sometimes with amalgam fillings and almost never with composite fillings. Having said that, I think that amalgam is a very good material for a filling. I have in my mouth couple of amalgam fillings in the back teeth and I have no intention to replace them with a composite .

I think you should go back to your dentist and remake the fillings.

 

[guypd]

1.) Would replacing the amalgam fillings with composite possibly be a fix? Or maybe removing the old amalagam fillings and putting new amalgam fillings in with a soothing agent in the base of the new filling might help?

I'm having just this issue, though only now two weeks since filling, and have wondered just this myself.