It is very common to have sensitive teeth after you’ve undergone a cavity filling. Many people come into our dental office to have a cavity filled and expect for all their tooth pain to go away. So it can be startling for those people to experience tooth pain post-filling. This newfound sensitivity can last from days to even a few weeks.
Reasons Why Teeth Are Sensitive After Cavity Fillings
There are several reasons why your teeth may remain sensitive for a while after you have a cavity filled.
- Healing – Depending on the location of the cavity, the decay may have inflamed the nearby gums. This can leave the area affected and sensitive as it heals.
- Less insulation – If the dentist had to drill close to the nerve of your tooth, there may be less insulating material between your tooth’s nerve and things like temperature changes via food consumption. Your nerve will grow more accustomed to the lessening of insulation, but it will take time.
- Bite change – Our dentist will do the best he can to replicate your tooth’s bite. However, there may be a margin of error and you may experience some discomfort as you adjust to your new bite. If the filling created too high a bite for you, be sure to come see us so we can make a simple adjustment to eliminate your discomfort.
- Stress – Fillings can be very stressful for your teeth, so they may require days or even weeks to overcome the stress of a dental filling.
Common Types Of Tooth Pain Post-Filling
Even knowing the reasons behind tooth pain post-filling is not always reassuring. To help you identify your own filling pain, below are the common types of pain experienced after you have received a filling.
- Cold/Hot sensitivity – Brief feelings of sharp discomfort can be experienced when something cold or hot comes into contact with your new filling. This should go away within a few weeks at most. If the pain remains after taking away the hot or cold irritant, then you may have nerve damage – so give us a call and we can help you.
- Bite discomfort – If you have pain when biting down, your mouth may just be sensitive post-filling and becoming used to a slightly different bite. However, if the bite sparks a throbbing pain, you may have cracked your filling. Again, give us a call and we can fix this problem.
- Allergic reaction – A very uncommon source of post-cavity pain is from an allergic reaction to the filling material. Be sure to mention any allergies prior to your appointment and let us know if you think you are experiencing any post-filling allergy irritation.
- Throbbing pain – We may have needed to drill deep into your tooth to clean out the decay. This can cause lingering, throbbing pain. However, if the pain goes on without improving over the course of a few weeks, let us know. The tooth’s nerve may be irritated and need attention.
Overall, some pain and hot/cold sensitivity after a dental filling is to be expected. Just be sure to keep track of how long the pain lasts and be sure to let us know if the pain lasts more than a few weeks.