Pain after temps

[youch]

Hi guys - I've been lurking here awhile. So, I've always had a dental phobia and forced myself to the dentist despite it - all of my permanent teeth came in with deep grooves (thanks genetics) and were filled almost immediately - I'm now at the age where those fillings are failing. And a trip to the dentist ends up costing me thousands of dollars to fix them. So, my last trip (two weeks ago) he took out two fillings that seemed to have cavities under them - one was so large that he recommended a root canal (which I had this week) and when he took the other off he found a cavity in the tooth next to it too - so I ended up leaving with temp fillings and impressions made for inlays/onlays. The temp hurt and I should've gone back right away, but stuck it out, trying to make it until my next appointment - I finally broke down after a week and went back (in my case, any time they drill/etc I end up w/ pain for a few days/weeks in the surrounding gums) and thankfully the restorations were ready to go in. The pain already feels better, but my question is this - for anyone who has had a "high" filling - how long after it was fixed did it hurt? Was there a healing period or did it get better quickly. I should invest in ibuprofen stock, I've taken so much, and I haven't slept well at night for weeks due to the pain. We won't even mention the sticker shock. I've never had this much work done at once, and honestly never had this much of a toothache in my life (from the WORK not the teeth themselves) - and wondering if anyone had experienced it and when it should chill out.

 

[Davee]

I can give you two experiences with different outcomes. I had two silver fillings replaced with composite fillings. They hurt on and off for three weeks until they "settled". One still hurts on occasion, but not much more then a mild ache that lasts a couple hours. The fillings are two months old. So basically they don't hurt.

My daughter had surface cavities filled with composite. They never settled. They got worse. Her original dentist drilled to far, overfilled the teeth, and cracked one tooth. She will get a root canal and crown on one next week.

The difference between her problems and mine were that her teeth did not just "ache". She had intense pain when she bit down on food. Her pain was more extreme, and she never had a day in which she felt the teeth were getting better. She had two of the teeth redrilled, and appropriate fillings put back in. No pain at all after the procedure for her. It was like a miracle she said. The other tooth is a sad story. VERY bad dentist who did the original work.

Hope that helps.

 

[youch]

Thanks for the response, that does help - I had no pain in those teeth before this started and think the temp was "overfilled" - it took a good ten minutes of prying to get it off - I just wish I'd gone back sooner - hoping no permanent damage was done - like your daughter, the pain was constant with the temp fillings. It still hurts pretty severely when I put any pressure on it, but at least the throbbing is gone. Hoping it will settle down in the next few days, I've already decided to find a new dentist once this is done with. How I miss solid food. Thanks for both scenarios, very helpful.

 

[carole]

Hi youch are you sure you want this dentist to do any more work on your teeth. If you are not confident in the work he is doing it might be best to call a halt to it now before you go any further. Another dentist will be able to fix the teeth as they are.

Are the fillings near the nerves at all do you know, did your dentist x ray these teeth. I think I would find another dentist now.

 

[youch]

Hi youch are you sure you want this dentist to do any more work on your teeth. If you are not confident in the work he is doing it might be best to call a halt to it now before you go any further. Another dentist will be able to fix the teeth as they are.

Are the fillings near the nerves at all do you know, did your dentist x ray these teeth. I think I would find another dentist now.

Thanks Carole - I absolutely agree - I had already paid for the inlays/onlays but have about decided to have someone else do the crown for the root canal I've had. This was my first bad dental experience, but BOY did it upset me - I also got pushed into having it all done at once - aka, he started drilling the third tooth (where no cavity had shown up on the xray) without asking me (I would've gotten them fixed eventually of course, but probably would have opted to spread out the pain). Thankfully I was sent to an endodontist (who was great) for the root canal and that feels fine. I saw the xrays for that, but definately will have a new dentist check out the other side of my mouth (where the painful temps were) - just hoping the pain he caused was temporary and no permanent damage was done - the teeth still hurt (not as bad though) - I'm going to give them a bit longer to hopefully settle and then find another dentist. SOOOOO disappointing (not to mention expensive, this has already cost me over 2000. and NOTHING hurt when I went in!)

 

[carole]

He shouldn't have touched a tooth you hadn't agreed he could do treatment on before getting your consent. You consented to having the two teeth treated so that was fine but he shouldn't just do treatment he decides he wants to do.

I hope the teeth do settle down which they might still do, and that the rest of the treatment you have paid for goes well. You shouldn't feel any pain when treatment is being done. I think you just got a greedy and careless dentist. Hopefully you will find a good considerate dentist for the rest of your care in the future.

Good luck

 

[youch]

UGH. The saga continues. So, thankfully there is some sorness in the gums where the temps were, but the teeth themselves are not sore to bite on, etc - the tooth that was root canalled is still sore to the touch (I think in the gums vs the tooth itself) BUT on top of all of this - I got a sinus/inner ear infection - all of the teeth were in the upper jaw, so the net result is everything hurts. WAH! I have antibiotics and steroids. I presume I should wait for this to clear up before finding a new dentist to check the teeth? This has NOT been the best month.

 

[Cali123]

UGH. The saga continues. So, thankfully there is some sorness in the gums where the temps were, but the teeth themselves are not sore to bite on, etc - the tooth that was root canalled is still sore to the touch (I think in the gums vs the tooth itself) BUT on top of all of this - I got a sinus/inner ear infection - all of the teeth were in the upper jaw, so the net result is everything hurts. WAH! I have antibiotics and steroids. I presume I should wait for this to clear up before finding a new dentist to check the teeth? This has NOT been the best month.

Hi Youch. Your symptoms sound much like what I've been dealing with for the past week and a half. I had a rather old (10 years) restoration that chipped a little while flossing. I went to the dentist, who took x-rays and looked at the tooth and said "You need a crown." That was a large onlay (or 3/4 crown, not sure which) and to strengthen the tooth it would be best to replace with a crown. This tooth did not hurt at all, and the x-ray showed no signs of additional decay. He didnt' mention any when he did the crown prep last Monday. That tooth throbbed the first night when the anesthesia wore off, settled down the next day, but I started having shocks of nerve pain and sensitivity right afterward. I went back to the office last week to have them recheck. They said that the margins may have exposed some dentin which was leading to additional sensitivity. They rushed the delivery of the permanent crown, which was seated on Monday. They numbed the site to place the crown, and I'm still having pain and swelling at the injection site today. They say that the gum irritation is causing the teeth to ache. That, and I'm apparently a full time clencher/grinder. This totally sucks!

To answer your other question about a "high filling", I had one replaced last year and it hurt. It was sensitive to everything! They filed it down a bit (I was really afraid that would hurt, and it didn't hurt at all), and then the tooth had settled completely 1-2 days later. I hope this helps.

 

[youch]

Lordee. So I ended up with a nasty sinus infection/inner ear infection on the side where the temps/pain had been - on antibiotics with little effect so far, but can't tell what is jaw pain, what is sinus pain - hoping the antibiotics will kick whatever it is - right now I want that to clear before i return to dentist. I was hoping to go to a new dentist, but with the intake process, etc think i'm stuck w my current situation until I can clear this up. WAH!

 

[youch]

Ugh. So, the adventure continues - I had to wait for inner ear infection to clear up to follow up after root canal, which I think was fine, because it let my mouth settle down after the high filling (that thing hurt for AWHILE after it was fixed) - went in today for the crown preparation - they did the post and build up - and couldn't get the temp crown to stay on, so I don't have one???? I've been googling all over the place - has anyone else had just the post/buildup??? I go back next week, I'm just praying I nothing happens to it in the next week, I seriously can't handle any more dental work right now. And, its going to be really hard for me to not obsess about it until I get the crown on - right now I feel the gap where my tooth was. Awful.

 

[carole]

Oh dear you are in the wars I would hate to just have the post, I think as long as you are being careful and eating on the other side it should be fine. I am having a crown prep the last week of July so I am hoping that goes well.

I think I have read on here before that someone had this problem but I cannot remember who, I hope you get your crown soon, do you know when?

You might even have it by now as I am 10 days late reading this. I really hope things are better for you now. Do let us know how you are getting on please.

 

[youch]

Oh dear you are in the wars I would hate to just have the post, I think as long as you are being careful and eating on the other side it should be fine. I am having a crown prep the last week of July so I am hoping that goes well.

I think I have read on here before that someone had this problem but I cannot remember who, I hope you get your crown soon, do you know when?

You might even have it by now as I am 10 days late reading this. I really hope things are better for you now. Do let us know how you are getting on please.

Thank goodness the crown is in - I won't say the past month wasn't a little miserable, but its almost done!! The crown fits well, doesn't hurt, but is just a little high (feel it when biting) so I'll go back next week to have him adjust that and then I'm finished. The good news is when the hygenist did the final exam she explained that all of this was old dental work wearing out vs. new decay - which she sees NO signs of - in the future I will DEFINATELY space this work out vs doing it all at once, but thank goodness I'm all done for now . Thanks to everyone for their support - this forum definitely helped me get through it all!

 

[carole]

I am glad you are all sorted out now thank you for up dating us. We have been pleased to help you, this site is very good and we all enjoy talking and comforting people that have the same fears and worries.

All the best for your future treatment

 

[youch]

Well guys - it took a year to get my insurance changed to a new dentist - but I have. He unfortunately confirmed what some users here were telling me - my old dentist was not doing good work (and was opting for more expensive procedures vs simple fillings) - BUT - I LOVE my new dentist and he did a simple filling today that took under 10 minutes with no pain, looks great, and did NOT break my bank. How I wish I'd switched dentists when I first suspected my old one was a mess. Just had to come back and update. Don't let bad dentists scare you away - just find a better one!!!