to think that my teeth shouldn't still be hurting?

[watchingwaves]

I went to the dentists last Tuesday as I'd had toothache since the preceding Thursday. The dentist x-rayed the area that hurt and identified a cavity that needed filling. He did a temporary 'dressing' and I made an appointment to have the filling done on Friday with another dentist at the same practice. On Friday the dentist x-rayed all my teeth and said there was a small hole in the biting surface of one of the adjacent teeth that needed filling but that could wait for another day. I assumed she meant as in a few months time and when she'd done the first one she asked if I was happy to leave the second one for another time. I asked if there would be any pain and she said no, its very small, there'll be no pain. After she'd done the paperwork to go through to reception she told me to make an appointment to have the second filling done within a fortnight. I have an appointment for this Friday morning. However I still have pain at the level of if I'm doing something active i'm just aware of it but if I try to work at my computer (I work from home) it is really distracting. I'm taking ibruprofen every four hours which seems to work for some of that period and am also taking solpadeine (paracetamol & codeine) every 4 hours but 2 hours after the ibruprofen iyswim which doesn't seem to be doing much. It was my first filling so I have no experience of whether there should be pain from the work that was done at the end of last week, or whether this is due to the hole that is being filled on Friday or whether it is due to something as yet undiagnosed...

I think it is most likely to be the cavity that hasn't been done yet. If you are in pain though, and are likely to be for the next few days, try and get an emergency appointment sooner. Most dentists keep one or two slots free a day for exactly this reason.

Paragraphs would make your post a lot easier to read.

Sensitivity is normal after a filling for up to a fortnight. If you had pain before the filling, you are more likely to stay in pain afterwards. It may be that the decay was deep enough to have affected the nerve in which case further treatment will be needed.

Without seeing the teeth it is impossible to say but you do need to ensure you address what has caused these holes (fermentable carbohydrate i.e. sugar) as it is unusual to get to adulthood not having had treatment and then need fillings.

The only time I usually come across this is if someone has taken up a competetive sport and drinks lots of energy drinks, if they have been ill and require medication or special dietary supplements, or if they have a disease of the salivary glands (such as after radiotherapy to the head and neck, or sjogrens disease related to RA) which causes a dry mouth.

The culprit is most likely to be sugar and it would be a great idea to ask your dentist about this to ensure you don;t get any pain in the future.

Yes, I had wondered whether it was some change in diet or something that had caused it as I've never really had any trouble with my teeth before. I'm 34.

The only changes I can think of (look a new paragraph!) are that I started using an electric toothbrush rather than manual about 9months ago but I would assume that that shouldn't cause a problem.

Or the other possibility is that I have always (last 15 years or so) had a couple of drinks of diet coke a day (I don't drink tea or coffee and admit that it is a caffeine addiction thing). However, in the last year or so I've replaced the diet coke with coke zero which does have a different recipe and I wonder if it could be that thats caused the problem (I know that no fizzy drink is good for the teeth but it does seem odd that I've never had a problem before).

Probabaly just clutching at straws though!

The most constructive thing you could do is a food diary, a week would be ideal but if not, make sure you include week days and weekends. Take this with you (write down everything that passes your lips!!) to your dentist (or pm it to me) and we can pinpoint what's causing the problems.

It's also important to spit your toothpaste out but not to rinse your mouth afterwards. That's like putting sunscreen on & washing it right off again. Toothpaste is medicinal and will help to prevent caries as long as it hangs around for long enough.

Thanks Grumpystiltskin, I will start a food diary and send it to you. In the meantime, one more query: if the decay has affected the nerve would that explain why I'm finding it difficult to pinpoint the exact spot that hurts and why sometimes it feels like its in a slightly different place to other times? Is the nerve actually in the tooth or in the gum or jaw?

The nerve is in the tooth but this nerve doesn't have any proprioception fibres. Proprioception nerves are the ones which tell you where something is. The nerves in your jaw and in the ligament that supports the tooth have proprioception so if they were affected, you should be able to pinpoint the problem.

"Probabaly just clutching at straws though!"

Instead of clutching them, use one. The drink doesnt touch your teeth then!

An update: I had the second filling this morning and am still comfortably numb! The dentist said to wait a week or two and call them if I still have pain then or if the pain gets worse in which case root treatment will probably be required
The food diary is still a work in progress but writing everything down has made me realise how many 'one off' naughty treats I allow myself and how bad I have got since dh left at eating proper meals.