Expert: Benjamin Schwartz, DDS FAGD - 11/19/2008

Question
I went to the dentist 2 weeks ago and had my last two teeth on the right side filled.  I had no pain in my teeth prior to the filling.  My dentist said he had to go deeper then he thought to do the fillings, this was on a Thursday.  I have been in severe pain since then.  I called him the following Monday and described the pain.  They called me in a antibiotic and filed down the filling.  Two days later still in pain (to the point of taking Ibuprofen ever 4 hrs) I go back and they file my tooth saying I must be biting my filling to hard.  He told me it could take a month to get better.  I'm sorry but I can't keep taking Ibuprofen ever 4 hrs for a month.  I went and got a second opinion and this dentist said it looks like I need a root canal in both teeth.  My symptoms are...constant pain-wakes me up from my sleep at night, pain severe enough I need to take Ibuprofen ever 4 hrs, sensitive to cold, hurts when pressure is added, constant throbbing....what do I do?

Answer
Hi Melissa,

I am sorry to hear about your problems.

Often, xrays don't give the full story. The only way to tell how deep the actual decay would be, is to open the tooth up and to excavate it.

However, how you react to a filling is different for every body. Some people, you can drill right next to their nerves and they feel no pain. Other people (like yourself), the tooth will go berserk if any drilling occurs near the nerve.

Unfortunately, if it has not calmed down by now, then it most likely will not. If you do need a root canal, it's best to get it now, and to get out of pain.

It doesn't seem like the past dentist did anything wrong. Unfortunately, the tooth is a living part of your body, and every person's body is different.

I hope you feel better soon!
Please let me know if you need more help.