Expert: Lawrence Spindel DDS, www.lspindeldds.com - 10/9/2008

Question
Hi,
I am looking for somekind of opinion.  I just had my tooth worked on today. Two weeks ago, I went to the dentist for a cleaning.  I told them that I was having pain in my last back molar on the top.  He said it looked fine and it's probably from brushing too hard.  So I demanded that he take an x-ray.  Well the x-ray just showed a small shadow.  He said my teeth are so overlapped in the back it was hard to tell. So they took 5 more x-rays. Decided it was a small cavity. So today I went to get it filled.  Well when he started drilling he discovered the cavity was much larger.  He told me it was not that deep for concern though.  He even said I should not be in too much pain.  Well it's now 9hrs later and I am in so much pain.  My jaw hurts, my tooth hurts, and my whole left side hurts.  I am so worried that I might need a root canal. this same dentist 2mths ago told my husband he had a small cavity, the next day my husband was in so much pain in could not even function after having it filled, too make a long story short he needed a root canal.  
I am loosing faith in this dentist. My question is, Should I be this sore after having a cavity filled.  The pain is going through my cheek, ear and eye. I have never had a cavity in all my 30 years this is my first one.  Are there any reasons why it should hurt so much?  Do you think I might need an x-ray.  Any answers would be greatly appreciated. thanks

Answer
Dear Darlene,

Sometimes a tooth hurts after being  filled. Hopefully, this sensitivity is related to the bite being high. If the filling hits prematurely every time a patient closes her mouth, it can cause a great deal of discomfort.  A patient should be able to close their teeth together and clench side to side, without discomfort. If the bite is high, a simple 30 second adjustment by the dentist can solve the problem.

Some teeth hurt even after a bite is adjusted. In that event I usually remove the filling and place a sedative temporary filling.  

If the tooth is 'happy' once sedative filling has been placed, then I refill the tooth with a permanent filling.

Occasionally, even after I have tried  the above steps, a tooth is still 'unhappy' and at that point I would suggest a root canal to alleviate the symptoms.

I hope I have answered your question and please feel free to contact me again with any future dental questions.