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Dental Pain After
Filling
It is not uncommon for teeth
to be sensitive following placement of a filling. Your teeth may be sensitive to pressure, air, sweet foods, or
temperature after the procedure.
Normally the sensitivity goes away on its own within a few weeks. While
your teeth are sensitive though, try to avoid those things that are causing the
sensitivity. You should never be in so
much pain that you’d require a painkiller but it’s a good idea to get some that
are regular strength, just in case.
If the tooth pain doesn’t
subside within two to four weeks or if your teeth are really sensitive, make
sure you contact your dentist. Your
dentist will probably suggest you use a desensitizing toothpaste or apply a
desensitizing agent to the tooth, or possibly suggest a root canal procedure.
Here are some other common
types of sensitivity once the tooth is filled:
· Pain around your fillings. If you experience this type of pain you may want to see your
dentist again because there’s a chance the tooth was not properly repaired.
· Pain when you bite. With this type of pain, the pain
occurs when you try to bite down. The pain is noticed immediately after the
anesthesia wears off and it may continue over time. This usually happens because the filling is interfering with
your bite and you’ll need to contact your dentist and have the filling
reshaped.
· Pain when your teeth touch. This pain is a distinct pain
that happens when your teeth touch. The pain is likely caused by the touching
of two different metal surfaces such as the silver amalgam in a newly filled
tooth and a silver crown on another tooth.
This pain should resolve on its own within a short period of time but,
again, if it’s persistent you’ll need to see a doctor again.
· Toothache.
Unfortunately if the decay was very deep to the pulp of the tooth, this
type of pain may indicate this tissue is no longer healthy and you may have to
get a root canal treatment for it.
· Referred pain. With this type of pain, you experience pain
or sensitivity in other teeth besides the one that received the filling. With
this particular pain, there is likely nothing wrong with your teeth and the
pain will probably go away on its own.
Very rarely patients will
have allergic reactions to silver fillings.
In these rare circumstances, mercury or one of the metals used in the
filling causes the allergic response. Symptoms of amalgam allergy are similar
to those experienced in a typical skin allergy and include skin rashes and
itching. The best solution to this is
to ask to have the filling replaced with composite type of filling.
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