I went to my Dentist showing signs of reversible pulpitis but it's not pulpitis?

[Yazz]

I went to my Dentist showing signs of reversible pulpitis but it's not pulpitis?

Hi, a couple of weeks ago the tooth to the left of my left front tooth became very sensitive to colds, but only painful for about 1 or 2 seconds after the cold food or drink was applied to the tooth. And right after that time it became sensitive to pressure. If I bite down or push on it I can feel a very dull, small pain above the tooth. Nothing severe, just mildly annoying.

After freaking out I googled around, and I found that I was displaying the same symptoms as reversible pulpitis (I know I'm not a dentist but I wanted to know.) So I made an appointment with my dentist, went in and explained what is going on.

He took an xray and did some grind tests and he agreed with me that the symptoms I was describing were similar to an infection of the nerve. But he looked at the xray and said that the nerve looks fine, and that the filling I have in that tooth looks fine too. He then proceeded to grind away at the bottom of the tooth as he thought that the tenderness may be caused my grinding the tooth at night or something similar, because both the nerve looked fine and the filling looked fine.

Now like I said, there is a filling there, it's about two years old. It's hard to tell, but I don;t think the sensitivity occurs at the filling. I carefully applied ice to various areas around the tooth and it seems to be the most sensitive above the filling near the gums. However, I cant stop stressing out about the tenderness issue. I really don't want to have to do a root canal procedure, as I just don't have the money for it, and if it IS an infection, I want to deal with it before it gets worse and I HAVE to do a root canal.

My dentist was perplexed by the issue, he said he cant understand what it can be if the nerve looks and responds fine.

But if the xray looks fine, what are the chances that the filling replacement will solve that? what can I do/ask my dentist.

Sorry if I have not addressed something, or forgotten something. This is my first post.

Any insight will be greatly appreciated

 

[ScaredyCat22]

Re: I went to my Dentist showing signs of reversible pulpitis but it's not pulpitis?

I am confused, your dentist agreed that this is infection and reversible pulpitis? It is really not symptoms of either.
reversible pulpitis comes from trauma, like getting a filling that irritates the nerve. you don't get it 2 years after a filling you get it immediately after a filling or not at all.
lots of people have sensitive teeth. your cold sensitivity can be from gum recession or even normal wear and tear and enamel erosion. have you tried tooth paste for sensitive teeth? having sensitivity that lasts a second or 2 is not a sign of infection.
pain that occurs only when biting is usually a sign of a crack in the tooth.

infection causes a deep throbbing ache that feels like it has a heart beat. it is an excruciating pain often accompanies by swelling, pressure, and abscess.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Re: I went to my Dentist showing signs of reversible pulpitis but it's not pulpitis?

Hi,

Did your dentist check the tooth's vitality? (the most common way is with a cold test)

 

[Yazz]

Re: I went to my Dentist showing signs of reversible pulpitis but it's not pulpitis?

Hi, thanks for the replies.

To address ScaredyCat, my dentist agreed with me that the symptoms and the pain I'm dexcribing are signs of an infection. He however said, because the xray shows no infection, and that the filling looks fine, he isnt sure what it could be, he then proceeded to grind the tooth down a little as he thought the pain may have been caused my grinding the tooth, I however feel like that is not the issue as I have never had an issue with grinding my teeth. On my first visit he told me to use sensitive toothpaste, and I did, and it did not help, HOWEVER when I first visited him, he applied some sort of paste to the front of the tooth where the filling is, and said to use the toothpaste for 2 weeks and come back if the pain persists, which it did.

Since then, I have noticed that the pain does not occur at the filling, where he applied the paste, the pain to colds occurs at the back of the tooth at the top where the tooth meets the gums, he did not apply any paste there, so I will be placing sensitive toothpaste there during the day and after I brush ect.

But even after all of that...I still have a tooth that is painful to bite with, IF the sensitivity gets fixed with the toothpaste, it does me no good if I cant bite with it. And the dentist has no idea what could cause it which has got me frustrated quite a bit because I have been to him 3 times, and I still have the same problems as I did the first time I saw him.


And to address Dr. Daniel, the first time I saw him, he tested the tooth using cold air, the last time I saw him he tested it with some kid of cold material that he applied to the tooth, I'm not sure what it was exactly but when I saw it for a second I saw cold air coming off it if that makes sense, and with this test he said that the nerve is responding correctly and it should be ok.


So I have two issues on the same tooth, sensitivity to colds which has had me drinking through a straw for about one and a half months, and about 3 weeks after the sensitivity the tooth has become sensitivity to pressure, in any direction. If I bite with it, if I push the tooth back or pull it forward. It's not a sharp pain, it's very dull and lasts for like 3 seconds. But it's still annoying.


These two things have to be related, it just cant be a sensitive tooth, there is more to it, and after I told my dentist those two things, he said it's sounds like an infection, but the evidence seems to say no, but if it's not an infection, what can cause the sensitivity (that is not near the filling) and also the pressure sensitivity.

Sorry for the long post.

EDIT:

After thinking about it, and googling a little more, does this sound like a cracked tooth? I do have a filling in this tooth and it's a little discolored, my dentists hasn't mentioned anything about it, but could it be a possibility?

 

[ScaredyCat22]

Re: I went to my Dentist showing signs of reversible pulpitis but it's not pulpitis?

a cracked tooth can cause both cold sensitivity and pain with biting on it.

 

[Yazz]

Re: I went to my Dentist showing signs of reversible pulpitis but it's not pulpitis?

a cracked tooth can cause both cold sensitivity and pain with biting on it.

I just edited my post to ask this haha.

Ok, so should I be worried about this? I do have a filling in the tooth. Could this be the cause? I simple filling replacement? or is it more serious than that? I will be calling my dentist tomorrow either way but I would like to know.

Thanks

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Re: I went to my Dentist showing signs of reversible pulpitis but it's not pulpitis?

a cracked tooth can cause both cold sensitivity and pain with biting on it.

That is true and I must ad to it that the difference in sensitivity with biting between carious (infection) and a crack is that with infection the sensitivity rises when applying the pressure (and reduced once the pressure is released) while with a crack the sensitivity rises when the pressure is released.

Yazz, it sounds like your dentist is very careful and professional and does not treat without a proper diagnose. A bit of patience and I am certain he will solve the mystery and your complain.