Pain in a filled tooth - any advice/experience?!

[SlaveToAGoldenRetriever]

Posting here for traffic out of desperation.. sorry!

I had quite a deep filling on a back molar in September. All was absolutely fine until I suddenly started getting sharp pain whilst chewing on said tooth in December, plus a lot of sensitivity to hot/cold drinks. Booked an emergency appointment with my dentist who said the tooth looked fine, filling was intact and to give it a few weeks to settle - she thought that I’d just bit down on something hard and ‘traumatised’ the nerve so advised to give it a rest by only chewing on the opposite side. Sent me on my way with no further answers/information!

It’s now nearly 2 months later - pain is still very much there if I try to chew on that side, despite further reassurance from my dentist that all is well with the tooth. AIBU to think she might be talking rubbish at this point? 😬

Go to see a dentist, musnetters can't diagnose or treat you.

Hairline crack from the sounds of it. Probably not even visible but an xray might show it. You'll probably need a root canal and possibly a crown depending on its condition, it'd be the only way to treat it which is why she told you to see if it settles before starting any extensive and expensive treatment.

Aware of this - was just hoping to hear any similar experiences from other posters as it would seem my dentist can’t diagnose it either

I would definitely see about an xray. I had a tooth which broke when i was eating something and an xray revealed the tooth had almost completely rotted on the inside (no pain or outward signs of decay previous to this). Needed a root canal as it was too far gone.

Pretty much the same for me but mine was too far gone for root canal. It’s been extracted and will have an implant in three months, sorry OP.

I had pain in a tooth that had been filled - it turned out the issue was with my wisdom tooth (three teeth behind the one hurting the most!). Had my wisdom tooth removed and the relief was incredible. Is this a possibility?

My dentist would blame this on it being a deep filling which I know doesn’t help but I’ve had the same thing in the past. Any time it’s caused me problems he says ‘these things happen when it’s a big filling.’

Have you had an X-Ray? I think I would ask for a second opinion as I find pain like this ends up unbearable if not treated.

I had a deep filling in a back tooth and it's still quite sensitive and sometimes painful if I bite on something hard. Dentist said this is because it's a deep filling and close to the nerve. He said if it gets worse my two options are a) remove the tooth and have a gap there or b) have a root canal done. At the moment, it's not so bad that I would consider either but I'd suggest you go back to the dentist and explore further options.

My dentist warned me when I got a filling back in August that it may have issues. It was very deep and I needed 2 jags, it took about 35-40mins to do it. Ofcourse she only told me this when I was done and over £100 down for a new white filling!

She said I may have sensitivity and if it was uncomfortable and giving me issues we have to do more treatment, like a root canal for starters. Great I thought 🙄

For the first month I couldn't eat on that side at all. Even after 2-3 months I cld only chew certain foods on it but after 3-4 months it has been better and pretty much bk to normal now.

The third option is to extract the tooth and put in an implant/crown. This is pricier but is the gold standard treatment as implants typically last more than 10 years, if not indefinitely if you take care of them.

I would have thought your dentist should take an xray to determine whether there is a crack/fracture. If there is, I am not sure whether you would want to bother going down the route of a root canal. I did that and the tooth was so fragile by then the root canal failed after less than a year despite my having spent £££ on the root canal, ended up with terrible tooth pain, only to have to do an extraction and implant for even more ££££.

In any case, the pain is not going away, which is difficult and worrying in itself. Pain is a sign that something is wrong.

The next time my tooth cracked, I skipped the root canal and went straight to implant. Implants tend to be done by dentists with specialist training. If your dentist does not do them, he would be incentivised to recommend a root canal otherwise he would not earn the cost of the treatment if he referred you away for an implant. Just bear this in mind and ask him for the pros and cons of an implant.

I’m one of the lucky people that doesn’t have any wisdom teeth, definitely not a possibility for me..! 😆

I had this. Took 18 months for the pain to calm down. Doesn't bother me at all now.

Took a good couple of months for mine to settle down.
Hope yours does soon 🤞

A slight niggling pain might on biting on something might settle down after a filling. But if you're talking about a lightning sharp stab I'm afraid it's very likely that you have a crack in the tooth.

If you are more in the faint ache in chewing stage, you might be a tooth clencher or grinder. Teeth are not meant to meet in day to day life apart from chewing. I never realised I was a clencher - the more I worried about the sore tooth the more I clenched. I eventually ended up at the emergency dentist convinced I had an abscess.

A giveaway sign is that the jaw muscles from the jaw hinge to the ear are often very tight and a bit sore if you prod them. I had a tooth splint made to wear at night because while I could largely control day clenching I used to do it in my sleep.

Your dentist sounds a bit hopeless to me. I'd get a second opinion.

This happened to me i went back and it was a little air pocket under the filling, they removed the filling and replaced it and was absolutely fine afterwards

How does a patient get a second opinion?

Keep us updated @SlaveToAGoldenRetriever I’m in agony having had some dental issues. I’m in Denplan. However, I now have no bite, a painful jaw/cheekbone and my dentist has referred me to Manchester Dental Hospital Prosthodontics as they’ve run out of ideas.

I have similar so following! It wasn't a massive filling but in my wisdom tooth. Really hoping I don't have to have the tooth out