Expert: Tony Appleton BDS DPDS - 10/15/2008

Question
at the end of august i started experiencing a throbbing sensation in one of my back right hand lower jaw molars. the tooth had a white filling in already. the dentist had done an xray at my routine check up in May. when i went to the dentist about this problem he did lots of different tests on the tooth and couldn't find anything obviously wrong. it continued to bother me. the pain was never bad enough for pain killers but it was enough to bother me all of the time just like a dull throbbing sensation coming from under my tooth. it didn't hurt to touch or chew on. i went back and he replaced my old filling but he coujldn't see anything wrong with it. the tooth has been bothering me on and off since and at present a have an itchy, like when a scab heals sensation. do you have any suggestions as to what it could be?

Answer
Hi Sarah

The pulp in the middle of the tooth has become irritated and is giving symptoms.  If this doesn't get any better the dentist may want to put a sedative temporary filling into the tooth, or it could be that you end up needing root canal treatment.

Regards

Tony Appleton