Had Cavities Filled for the First Time- Wondering If Doc Messed Up

Maybe you have a dry socket under the filling.. I would request the dentist to investigate until the problem is found.

I had two newly forming cavities a few years ago and the doctor used a white color material for the filling, and I was in pain a day or two afterward. It got so bad, I wasn't able to eat. I called him and he said that I should take an antibotic and called something in for me. I took that and it didn't help. Called him back and he told me to come in because my teeth were reacting to the filling material. He took out the filling material and replaced it with medicated stuff. I will never let anyone use the white filling on my teeth again. It reacts in some people but not in others. My youngest daughter had a filling in a baby tooth and had the white stuff and didn't have any reaction. Hopefully it is something that easy!!

I had the same experience and it lasted 2 months!
I did get the dentist to regrind one and that helped because it seemed to be knocking on the tooth below it.
I guess unfortunately it is normal for those of us with really sensitive teeth bummer!!!!!!

I worked for a dentist for almost eight years. From your symptoms, it sounds like you may need a root canal. I would first find a new dentist. If I needed a root canal, I would see a dental specialist who was educatd in Endoscopy for that procedure, then go back to the regular dentist for the crowns that they will need to place on top. Did they take x-rays before doing the fillings? Be sure and have those sent to your new dentist(s) so they can tell you if you already needed a root canal before this doc did the fillings. Most likely you did and him doing this work irritated the problem, making it worse. Avoid the dental clinics that advertise heavily and provide cheap services--you certainly will get what you pay for! Good Luck and let us know how you do.

I had the same thing except i didn't have a cavity, i wanted to have old silver fillings replaced with white. well, my dentist has been my dentist since i was 18 and filled a few cavities in that time and pulled wisdom teeth too with no problem. this time however it all went wrong. first, it took a lot of novicane (sp?) to adequately numb the area. i swear i felt like my eye was numb after all the stuff injected in my cheek. so then he somehow removed the silver and replaced with white. checked my bite to make sure it was low enough or level or whatever the term is. i think it showed a little bit raised too high so he smoothed that down. well, i went home and i swear my tooth was soooo sensitive i couldn't bite down or eat. i went back and he yet again smoothed some down etc. i'll tell you that i never could bite down on that tooth for over a year. after close to two years (i frankly lost track of the time) it finally stopped. he had just told me it was a nerve thing and would stop. don't get the impression that he blew me off, he didn't really though he didn't seem to know how to make it stop either, i simply never have the time or inclination to continue worrying about things like that and tend to just live with hit. which is what i did. however, now i'm frankly scared to go to the dentist for anything more than a cleanign! i was never scared before. i need my teeth whitened like crazy but won't do it b/c i heard it opens the surface of your teeth somehow that makes them sensitive, and i completely gave up the idea of replacing all my old fillings---forget it! it really stunk to have my tooth that sensitive! i know just what you are feeling. sorry i don't have anything better to say about it to help you out.

This is NOT AT ALL NORMAL. I've had many fillings. Get a reference to a good, caring dentist from a friend, neighbor, family doctor, Angie's List. Get a second opinion for sure. It might be doing some damage in there!

D.,

I've had a few cavities and that is not normal. Change dentist and get a second opinion. It sounds like they hit/damaged the nerve. Your back molar nerves are really deep and sensitive, so if he messed it up, it will feel as if it is going down the side of your jaw. I was considered a good dental patient. My long time dentist did that to me once. He filled my tooth and it kept hurting, so I went back. He had to go back in (deaden everything again with the needles) and re do it. After that I was always afraid it would hurt and became a paranoid dental patient. It can freak you out. We have a new great and competent dentist in the HEB area off of Precinct, Dr. Chad Perry ###-###-####. He volunteers at a dental/denture clinic on Monday/Fri and is out of the office, but is there Tue - Thur. Whatever you do get that looked at. I live in Arlington, so he is definitely worth the drive. If you go tell him K. P. said hello and he'll know who it is. I have all my sisters and brothers going to him now. :)

You need to have a second dentist take a look at your mouth. I have that happen to me and it turned out that the first dentist had actually "pinched" a nerve while filling the cavities. You need to get that taken care of asap because their also the possiblity that their is still infection in the cavity that he did not fully remove and if he doesn't get it completely removed you run the risk of having to either get the tooth pulled or have to have a root canal done to get rid of the entire infection.

This kind of pain is NOT normal after cavities--sounds as if you have an incompetent dentist. Defintely get a second opinion. Document Document document what is happening in case so you can hopefully recoup some of your costs. Your insurance will not double pay for fillings in the same tooth so the 2nd dentist will be out of your pocket. CHANGE DENTISTS--There are plenty of good ones but unfortunately a lot of duds too. I had a couple of duds (bad work w/one, ins. fraud w/another) until my current one (James Getz on Forest Park in FW). Ask friends who they use in your area.

I would find another dentist because what you are experiencing isn't normal and it doesn't sound as if your dentist is taking you seriously. The fillings may be too high as well something possibly more serious (e.g., infection, problems with the roots and/or nerves, etc.). I wish you the best because sometimes it is difficult to find someone in the medical and/or dental community who wants to take on what another provider has done. I'm sure sorry this happened to you. I've been afraid of dentists all my life and if this had happened to me early on I would probably have dentures at this point.

I have had what the denitst would call deep fillings and yes I did have some sensitivity. However nothing like what you are describing. It almost seems like to me that he hit a nerve or something.

As far as seeking a second opinion I think I probably would because it sounds like ther might be something else happening (like he hit a nerve or some type of infection startng.)

Good luck and God Bless.

I have to believe if you are that miserable, then something is wrong. What - I'm not sure. I think you should get a sceond opinion from another dentist. If things don't get much better over the long term, have a dentist check your bite. Mine has been off somewhat and it can cause really bad tooth aches.
Good luck to you.

I've never had a cavity react like that. If you get a second opinion go to Dr. Shane Edwards in Frisco. He's very good.

Last summer (about 12 months ago to be exact), I had two cavities in the back two molars on my right side. I went in to get them filled and since I had waited several months after my cleaning and xrays, they both had gotten deeper. The whole ordeal that morning getting them filled was horrible. For several weeks I had this terrible pain that came from the nerves. I could tell it was the nerves and not that the fillings needed to be filed down or even hurt to bite down. They were sensitive to hot/cold but the nerve pain was unbearable. I went for about a month with this pain thinking it had to do w/ the sensitivity to the fillings. It's always best to wait a few weeks for everything to calm down. This pain was not getting any better and I was popping advil like candy. I called the dentist and went back in for them to check. He explained to me that he did a 'pulp cap' since he had to drill so deep. It's a medication that is put on before the filling, and it's supposed to protect the 'root' since it was somewhat exposed. A pulp cap is done in lieu of a root canal and it usually takes but in my case it did not. (he never told me at the time he was doing this so I had no idea about this pulp cap until I went back in.) Since the pain was coming from my right side, it was impossible to tell which tooth it was. He did several sensitivity tests to try to determine which tooth it was and I could not tell anything. He said that he would need to do a root canal on both teeth in order to fix this. Ugh. I didn't want to have two together, and I kind of felt like maybe the 2nd to back molar was the one, so I went and got a root canal on that one and prayed I made the right choice. I hated to think of two root canals when maybe it was just one tooth. Well, after the novacaine wore off that day, the pain was still there. It was the exact same pain so the root canald didn't help. I had to go back a couple of weeks later to get the 2nd root canal and that was the problem tooth. I'll never know if both teeth had the same issues or if it was indeed just the 2nd tooth that was the culprit. The root canals on both teeth were nothing compared to the original fillings a month before.

I just had another filling done a couple of months ago and I do need to have it filed down some more. I have some pain and sensitivity when I bite down on certain foods and hot/cold items. Good luck!!

I would find another dentist. I've had many fillings and never had that kind of pain for more than a day, certainly not as long as you have! Also, it's my understanding that having a sensitivity to heat is a sign of an underlying issue -- cold is normal for some people, but not hot.

I hope you get some answers soon!

D.,
I am sorry to say but it sounds as if you need a root canal. You need a new dentist. They will try a crown first and if that doesn't work a root canal. Good luck!

Anytime you work on a tooth, the nerve is "traumatized"...and you may feel dull pain for a few weeks after...but what you are experiencing does not sound like that kind of reaction. I would go to a different dentist...keep a log of what hurts, where it hurts and when it hurts. It makes no sense to be "hyper-sensative" when you weren't before...get a second opinion!

I sure would get a second opinion.

Years ago, my husband had some dental work done. They put in a temporary filling. He was in pain and his face started to swell. It turned out he had an absess that formed because they had not gotten out all of the infection and the filling kept the bacteria in and got out of control.

After they discovered the problem, he had oral surgery and was put on antibiotics. He made a full recovery without problems.

The oral surgeon said that if he had waited too much longer, the infection might have reached his brain. Of course, his situation was an extreme case, and he's a man, so you know I had to get after him for a couple of days to get him to go to the doctor.

Same thing happened to me! No pain until after the "cavities" were filled. Then I had to get 2 root canals & 2 crowns.
My new dentist Dr. Bohannon in Hurst (who is absolutely wonderful!)said that some dentists recommend filling a tooth when they see some gray in the xrays even if there is no pain.

I've only had 1 cavity, but that is NOT normal I wouldn't think. I would get a second opinion

Did you see the cavities yourself and know that you needed this procedure?

I wouldn't think this is normal, if your having issues and feel your not being taken seriously, then yes by all means get a second opinion.

It could be what he used to fill your cavities that are causing the issue, some people have side effects to some of the materials use in dentistry. Find out what he used and see if that is what's causing your sensitivity.

I know where Anna is but don't live in that area to help you find someone that can help. I do know a lady that lives in McKinney that might know of a dentist you can use. Her name is Michelle Barr, you can contacted her at www.hopehousemckinney.com She is also a minister and might have contacts for you.

Love and Light,
Rev. G. Hudson

That does NOT sound normal to ME! I WILL, however, say that I, too had a cavity filled that was not causing me any trouble. I was told it could be sensitive to hot and cold for a few days. For two weeks after the work, my tooth was super sensitive to most ANYthing. I figured he drilled the hole but missed filling part of it. I haven't had any issues as of recently. I might see someone else if I were you. Do you mind emailing me the name of your dentist? We've had some dentist issues so I was just curious.

Call Dr. Michael Rogers in Arlington and see if he will give you a second opinion. After much trial and error, he is the only completely ethical dentist that I have found in the area.....not to say there aren't others that I haven't visited. His number is ###-###-####.

I would definitely seek a second opinion. If you have dental insurance, you might contact them and ask their advice on procedure, so you can either be reimbursed by the first dentist or still be covered on the re-do.

I've had a number of fillings and other dental procedures over the years, and the throbbing you're describing sounds like an infection.

I also know, having had a lot of dental work over the years, that there are definitely dentists that are better and more responsive than others, and some who will deny any problem they may have caused.

I'm sorry your first procedure went so poorly. Good Luck!