Advice appreciated! I had an old large filling in a lower molar replaced 5 weeks ago. It was causing me no issues but my dentist said it was beginning to leak/end of lifespan, so proceeded to have it replaced with composite.
It has yet to settle down. I went back to dentist a week ago for an adjustment. No change. Back to dentist again yesterday, anxious that I am due to fly long haul this week!
It is not getting worse but neither is it getting better. Spontaneous intermittent mild pain (does not wake me at night), cannot chew food on that side comfortably, and cold sensitivity.
X-ray and visual exam all look fine. The filling, when comparing old x-ray to new, is fairly close to pulp but no closer than before.
Dentist said usually if it was heading for endo/RCT we’d know by now as symptoms would be worsening. My tooth is ‘on the fence’ and not behaving predictably (lucky me!). Could be microcracks invisible to eye/x-ray letting in sensitivity and irritating the tooth.
Two options:
1.Conservative option is to watch and wait, to see if it settles on its own, but mindful of the risk it could flare up whilst on holiday. Pack anti inflammatory painkillers and hope it’s enough to keep me comfortable.
2.Nuclear option is to proceed now to essentially kill the tooth by removing pulp and placing a temporary filling, and a follow up RCT and crown on my return will be a definite requirement (no time for RCT before I go). Risk of prematurely killing a tooth which otherwise might settle, long term consequences etc.
Only going to know in hindsight what the correct option is/was!
What would you do??