Dentist issue - advice needed

[Kemer2018]

I had a check up about 4 weeks ago. The dentist flagged a hole in my rear molar which I knew about but it wasn't causing any problems.
She offered white filling private or amalgam nhs. I said I would consider due to costs. She said don't leave it too long as food will get underneath and cause decay. When i got home, i noticed that this had not been marked on the nhs form.
A couple of weeks ago, i went to get the filling done. Dentist greeted me and asked if i was there for a check up?
I reiterated our last meeting and she seemed off with me.
She then said she'd do it privately but charge me the nhs rate.
She then tried to drill out without anaesthetic. I couldn't stand it so had to stop her.
She gave me anaesthetic and i waited then got the drill and fill.
Trouble is, since then I've had constant low level pain which is distracting and i can't eat or have hot or cold on that side.
I don't know what to do. I'm actually scared to go back.
My oh reckons she was cross because it was not noted on the check up nhs doc, so she couldn't bill the nhs for a proportion of the filling cost.
Advice please? I can't afford private.

In my experience fillings do hurt for a good few weeks until they settle.

She didn't put it on the form because you didn't agree to it, she should have notes which will say you needed a filling but if you haven't made a decision on the filling then she can't put it on the NHS treatment plan. The treatment plan is basically a list of treatment you consent to.

She probably just momentarily forgot, when you booked the appointment did you say you needed a filling? Maybe you weren't booked in for long enough.

NHS dentistry is really complicated, it's not as simple as just billing the NHS. Not sure why she did it privately not NHS, probably because she had already submitted you and would need to do a check up again to do more treatment but there could be many reasons. If she charged you the same it matters little to you.

With the pain, it could be post op sensitivity, could be tooth ache, could be lots of things really. How deep was the filling? And how long ago?

Was it amalgam you had in the end?

Yes it was amalgam. 2 weeks ago tomorrow.

I would expect less post op sensitivity with amalgam but it could still happen. If it's been 2 weeks I would give it another couple of weeks if you can and if it doesn't settle go back. If it starts to get worse then I would go back earlier, if you go back now they might just tell you to wait and see if it gets better.

Thanks, I'll try waiting a couple of weeks.

I had a filling 6 months ago and it took around 4 weeks to settle. No problems at all after that.