In agony after a deep filling! Please help!

[Ashana]

I had a very deep filling done last Thursday in one of my upper molars. The tooth had had a filling in it previously which had come away and some of the tooth had also chipped off. The dentist drilled further and put a new filling in and said that the tooth may require a root canal in the future if the filling doesn't work.

A day after I had the filling done I was absolutely fine, but on day three and four I was in agony. I was in so much pain that I was in tears. Day five and six have been a bit better but I'm still getting sudden bouts of deep, throbbing pain. I hate taking pain killers so I only take paracetamol and ibuprofen when I can't bare the pain any longer.

I went back to see the dentist yesterday because of the pain but he said to carry on taking painkillers and wait another couple of weeks to see if the tooth settles. If not, he will then consider root canal.

I really can't bare the thought of having to put up with this pain any longer. I've had to take a few days off work for this and I've been unable to do much activity with my toddler so I feel really guilty. We are also going abroad in a weeks time so I really need to get it sorted.

How long does a deep filling usually take to settle? What advice can anyone give? The pain gets so bad that I just want to pull the tooth out.

Thanks.

Personally I’d go for removal. Isn’t less pain and by day 3 after pretty much no pain usually. Just look after the socket. I lost a tooth to an enclosed abscess once - the tooth had a filling in it but dentist could not see anything wrong with it or the gum etc but I was in AGONY!!

Sorry - that should read INSTANT less pain!!

Get it removed.

What happened to you happened to me when I was 18; 20 years ago and I remember it like yesterday.

For me the risks of further pain with a root canal was too much; the dentist had damaged the nerve and the pain was it dying underneath the filling.

When codeine ended up not working anymore and my face “slipped” with the pain I got it pulled by the same dentists who was not happy.

Tough.

Extraction: the lowest risk option.

over50andfab

I am a dentist and see people in pain all the time. I can say that OP had a deep filling done and then had pain afterwards that is absolutely classic of pulpal inflammation in a tooth.

Most tooth ache very rarely needs antibiotics. The only time dentists should be prescribing antibiotics these days is if there is systemic infection. And OP didn't give any symptoms of systemic infection.

OP if it was my tooth I would 100% go with a root canal. With an extraction yes theres a 100% chance of not getting toothache from the tooth again, however your tooth is gone. Root canals normally just feel like having a filling done, there can be some sensitivity post OP but it does usually settle after 2-3 days. There is obviously not a 100% garuntee, the same with a medical procedure but other option is that your tooth is gone forever. It can never be replaced, no implant or bridge will replace that tooth as well as actual tooth can. And if you lose more teeth then you can start getting problems with eating.

I have no advice but from the title my fat self thought you meant you'd burnt your mouth on a deep filled pie

My sympathies OP, I've had deep fillings (teeth) before and they were agony after the aneasthetic wore off and nothing worked for me

BlueCornishPixie - Apologies - I bow to your greater knowledge. I just thought that as the symptoms sounded similar to mine that an infection shouldn’t be ruled out. For mine it was definitely an infection.

I was also given the choice of root canal or extraction, but my dentist’s view is always to try to save the tooth if possible. I’ve had 2 extractions and a few root canals now - would always go for root canals.

Emergency appointment. Root anal + onlay. Private.

100% Root canal. It doesn't hurt at all, if it does, you need more Novocain. Once out of the chair you should feel fine, maybe a little tenderness but no pain even when the drugs wear off. The only negative is holding your mouth open for the work to be done.

With the extraction, you will have an open wound in your mouth and a plug of blood over the wound, if that comes out (dry socket), it is agony.

I've had both and would go for root canal every time. My extraction didn't get infected or come out and was apparently normal, but it was the most painful thing I have ever had, maybe I'm a big woosy but it was awful. I also had bone chips coming out for a few months.

If you smoke, there is more danger of getting the dry socket, due to the sucking motion.

Also I wouldn't wait until Tuesday, go tomorrow.

Hope you get it sorted Ashana.

I had a deep filling three months ago and it is still sensitive, particularly to cold, or if I bite directly on it in a certain way. Dentist still wants to wait and see if it settles, but I'm wondering if it actually needs a root canal.

Does anyone know if waiting another 3 months is the best thing to do? Or is it unlikely to settle if the sensitivity has lasted this long?

(Sorry for a hijack question!)

I really don't know what to do. The ideal situation would be that the filling settles down by Tuesday so that I don't have to go in for anything. I'm absolutely terrified of the dentist and just the thought of extraction or root canal sends my blood pressure racing.

I’m in exactly the same boat Ashana, just got an appointment for 5.15 today and expected the same.

I don’t think I want it out but equally I can’t deal with this pain for another few days. I’ve been in tears since 4am which is why I think the receptionist took pity on me.

Sorry as you are getting such mixed feedback ! I would whip the fucker out personally

@Ashana I know it's scary, but what is worse, the pain of the tooth or your anxiety? I am not dismissing anxiety, but I know how painful a toothache can get.

I would get it over with tomorrow so 1. You will out of pain 2. You can stop worrying about it. 3. You have a holiday soon and want it sorted before you leave.

If you leave it until Tuesday you will be worrying all weekend.

I was terrified of root canal until I had it done, then I couldn't understand the terror that seems to surround it.

Isn't there a risk of the neighbouring teeth coming loose if you have it out?

I recommend Root canal. Leaving a big gap in your mouth will create other problems in long run (the other teeth will migrate). I'm not a dentist chair fan (who is??) but it was tolerable. My root canal was a success so I would say that. As soon as I read OP, I knew you needed root canal to fix it.

Any dentists here who can advise on the best option? The dentist did say that there was a lot of nerve damage so he wasn't sure if it would work or not. Also the neighbouring tooth has a filling on so he said it may be difficult to put a crown on the affected tooth. I'm also thinking of costs as extraction will be cheaper but I don't want any long term problems with any other teeth.

@Ashana Bluecornish is a dentist and has commented above.

It depends what it is you are worried about OP.

I would honestly go for the root canal, it's just going to take some time but if you can have a filling you can have a root canal. But at the end of the day it's your tooth and your call.

I've never heard of nerve damage meaning root canal won't work. The point of root canal is to remove the nerve. Is it that there's a lot of tooth missing? . I've also never heard of a filling on a neighbouring tooth meaning a crown is harder to put on, if anything easier because you can edit the filling if necessary but not actual tooth.

The thing is is if you go for the root canal you can always change your mind and have it out, but you can't change your mind once you've had it out

A root canal won't hurt, it can be a bit sensitive if you have multiple appointments between appointments but it will be a lot less than tooth pain.

If a nerve is very inflamed it can take a couple of days to settle with root treatment but there's no reason it won't work in the long term. In most cases it will settle straight away but it can take a day or two. It should be better though.

Thanks everyone for your help and advice.

For the last two nights I haven't been in as much pain.

I went to see the dentist again as I was booked in for the root canal but he told me to wait as it looks like it may be settling.

If things get worse again I'll be going in next Thursday to get the root canal done.

@BlueCornishPixie, sorry to resurrect this thread but after some advice please! I had a deep filling done on a back molar 2 weeks ago. It hurt during the filling but was manageable, hurt quite a bit that afternoon and evening and then on and off for a few days and then died down. Then a few days later the pain came back and really isn't pleasant. Radiates up into ear etc. I saw the dentist today and he's put some desensitizing gel on and we're seeing how we go. He's also given me option of root canal work or extraction if it doesn't settle. He said because it's about as deep as you get, he would recommend getting the root canal work done by a specialist which would be about £900, or he can extract it. I forgot to ask the price of that. I really don't have £900. What are the issues if I say just go ahead and take it out?

Hi biscuit

If you have one tooth taken out it's not going to cause any major issues really. It's more if you have to have lots of teeth out.

You can get some resorption of the bone where the tooth was, with one tooth this isn't going to be a problem. If you lose lots of teeth and needed dentures it can but I'm guessing that's not problem for you.

You can also get some tipping of teeth behind, but again with one tooth nothing major. Problems come when people lose lots of teeth

If root canal is an option I would almost always recommend root canaling, because extractions are irreversible, there's no replacement for teeth as good as teeth. I think we should preserve teeth as long as we can and I want to avoid a situation where you end up with patients who just lose more and more teeth, and can't get on with dentures.

However if a tooth has got to go, it's got to go. If it's going to be 900 for a root filling that's not really feasible for you and having one tooth out isn't really a big deal. I wouldn't worry about losing one tooth.

@BlueCornishPixie thanks so much. No, I haven't lost any other teeth (yet) and fingers crossed I won't. I'm sitting here and it's really sore and I just want it gone! I hope it's not a nasty procedure taking a lower molar out. I'm not a wuss about pain, gave birth twice with no drugs, but had an abscess in a front tooth as a child, the treatment went really wrong and they ended up having to cut through my gum to take out the root of the tooth, and it was all so painful I am a bit squeamish about teeth now. Is an extraction horrible or OK really? Thanks so much for replying.

It won't be horrible no. The worst bit is the injection, but youve had that for the filling, so no difference there. It won't be painful.

It feels strange, you will feel pressure and hear noises, thats totally normal but it's normally done before you know it. In the same way a filling is a bit uncomfortable having your mouth open for a long time, so is an extraction but it's really not too bad.

If they have to cut your gum this isn't because it's gone wrong it's because the tooths anatomy makes it a bit more complex. A surgical extraction is like stage 2 of tooth extraction if that makes sense, but it's just another technique for removing teeth, and from your perspective it doesn't really make a difference. This shouldn't be painful! Because your numb, the dentist won't start until they have checked your numb. Sometimes they have to cut the tooth up as well using the drill but this feels exactly the same as having a filling so again not a big deal. Don't worry about it, you will be fine!

Thanks. I thought it might be like lower jaw wisdom teeth, which was ok while they did it but wretched afterwards. The injection always sort of works on that when the dentist checks it is numb by tapping on my him, it really is, but i can still feel the pain in the nerves inside the tooth. And when they had to cut through my top front gum as a child they had to stitch me back up and it was all pretty traumatic - it was because of a root that turned a corner so wouldn't drain the infection properly through the normal methods. So I haven't had the easiest time with teeth despite not even being allowed sweets as a child! Just feeling sorry for myself because it's really hurting tonight despite ibuprofen and paracetamol and I am meant to be up at 5.30am for work. Things always feel worse in the night though! Thanks for the reassurance.