Pain in tooth after filling

Question:

“About six months ago I went to the dentist and he did some kind of drilling. He put a [filling] behind my tooth in the front row on the bottom.   After getting the drilling done, I couldn’t eat or drink anything! It hurt so bad. A month later the pain was basically gone. It’s starting to come back again. But even worse[than before]. I don’t want to go through anything painful, (filling, etc,.) The tooth mostly hurts on the top and whenever I drink cold milk or hot coffee. Or eat something hot or cold. I am totally scared of the dentist. I have got a filling before, they numbed me and stuff, but it still hurt! I DON’T WANT TO GET ANOTHER ONE  HELP ME!”

Answer:

There are several reasons why dental drilling may be necessary. These include:

• Dental drilling to remove decay and then place a filling in that area
• Dental drilling to prepare a tooth or teeth for a cap (crown)
• Dental drilling to clean and fill the pulp if a tooth needs root canal therapy

The description you gave sounds like you received a front tooth filling. Sensitivity to cold sometimes indicates the beginning of tooth decay. There are two areas of a tooth that a dentist may have to go through when doing dental drilling, in order to treat your front tooth cavity. These are enamel (which is the outside area, what you see when you look at your teeth) and dentin (which is directly below the enamel). Dentin has holes in it and fluid which when disturbed carries pain sensations to the pulp (the center of the tooth that has nerves and blood vessels).

Reasons that you may have a tooth sensitive to cold include:

• A tooth with a cavity/decay. Decay that may go deep into dentin and be the cause of a tooth sensitive to cold
• Filling is close to the pulp. A filling that is placed in the area where the decay has been removed, if the decay was deep. This sometimes results in a tooth that is sensitive to cold, and may be prevented by placing a dental liner over the dentin before filling the tooth.

From the details of your question, your tooth pain that occurred after your filling may have been due to the fact that your front tooth cavity was deep and close to the pulp.

What is a Solution to Pain After a Filling?

Tooth pain after a filling is not at all uncommon, however prolonged pain may be an indication that a liner may have helped. A dental liner is a thin layer of material that a dentist places under the filling so that your tooth won’t be sensitive to temperature.  It insulates the nerve of the tooth and protects it.  It would be a good idea to get a new radiograph (x-ray) of the tooth to see if there are other issues, and have it addressed from there on.  Your dentist may choose to either re-do the filling, or if the decay is deep, perform a root canal.

Remember, don’t allow your dental fear to stop you from taking care of your oral health. No dental treatment should be painful.  If you feel any pain during a procedure, don’t hesitate to let your dentist know that you need more anesthesia.  We hope this helps you!