Pain after filling in previous root canal - help please!

[matt24]

Hi all! Great forum I would be much obliged if someone could please ease my mind and or offer any advice. I had a root canal done years ago but recently the enamel fell off it. I had a dentist take the filling out I think and refill it about 3 weeks ago. about 2 weeks ago the tooth was painful and hasn't gone away. went back to dentist who gave me antibiotics that haven't helped and mentioned taking tooth out.
went back this week again and another dentist said it could be gum pain so to floss but when I bite on the tools they have there was no extra pain. so one is saying infection another saying just floss gums but still the pain persists. Im at my whitts end and I am super nervous of going to dentist once never mind going back again!
Please help

 

[Gordon]

First thing to check would be if the filling is too high and causing trauma when you bite. Second thing is to take some x-rays to check if the root filling has failed. This can happen if the root filling is exposed to the mouth for a while, bacteria can get into the previously sealed root canal and re-contaminate it. It's not clear from your post if the root filling was exposed when the tooth broke.
After those, the third thing is to check if the tooth has cracked.
Unfortunately you will need to go to a dentist, you can't figure this out yourself.

 

[matt24]

Thank you for your help Gordon. It doesnt cause any trauma when i bite no pain at all which makes me think maybe it is the gum, x ray didnt show root filling had failed but they said its impossible to know if any nerve was left.
I think the enamel came off when but i suspect she may have taken the filling out of the tooth and re done it and thats when the problems have started.
Last dentist i saw said to floss more and I have done and have found food gets a little tucked in above the tooth which i cant remember ever noticing before. I wonder if the filling just wasnt put in right? is that a possibility?
Im tempted to go back tomorrow but dont want to be seen as a hypercondriact!

Do you think its best to just get the tooth out? im at the end of my tether. I cant say its causing me "pain" as such its more a dull ache but it just seems to be lingering and annoying which is making me anxious. Also doesnt help that I clench my teeth at night really bad.

Thanks again for your advice. Much appriciated
Matt

 

[Gordon]

It's possible that there's a small overhanging area on the filling which is acting as a food trap, if you're finding that food as being caught there now and wasn't before.
If you clench your teeth and the new filling is slightly too high, that would certainly cause you to have some pain, so I'd go back and have the practice polish the edges of the filling and take the tooth out of the bite a bit more, before resorting to having it extracted.

 

[matt24]

Thanks Gordon I will go forearmed and let you know the outcome