Tooth Filling Pain: Why It Happens & How to Ease It

Dental fillings are routine to restore teeth damaged by decay with cavities. When fixing your teeth, your dentist will fill the holes in them with material like a silver amalgam or composite. While the restoration procedure is routine, it can leave your teeth in pain for some time.

Generally, the discomfort you experience after getting a dental filling subsides in a few days or several weeks, depending on why you need the filling. However, if you want to know more about why you experience pain from tooth fillings, we recommend you continue reading further for details.

Will you Experience Discomfort when Getting Fillings?

If you need tooth fillings to restore cavities in them, expect the dentist in Calgary, SW, to numb the area around the affected tooth with local anesthesia before proceeding with the dental filling procedure. You will likely not experience any pain couple of hours after your appointment because the numbness remains in your mouth. However, you will experience unusual sensations in the mouth as the numbness wears off.

Some problems you will likely encounter include pain in the teeth when breathing cold air or having hot or cold foods and beverages. You might also experience tenderness in your gums and pain in the teeth surrounding the filling. The affected tooth might also feel pain when eating, brushing and flossing.

Why Does My Tooth Hurt After a Filling?

Several reasons can cause pain in the tooth after getting dental fillings. Some reasons are mentioned below for your benefit.

• Changes In Your Bite: Occasionally, after getting a tooth filling, the affected tooth feels more prominent than the rest. The feeling can make it painful to close your mouth because of pressure on the affected tooth. You might even crack the filling in your tooth when biting down, making it essential to seek your dentist’s advice soon as you notice the problem.
• Pulpitis: before restoring teeth, dental fillings in Calgary remove the decayed portion of your tooth with dental drills releasing heat. Rarely the heat can inflame the dental pulp at the Center of your tooth to cause pulpitis. However, if the dentist fails to remove all decayed material pulpits also results in dental pulp infection in the affected tooth. Pulpits can occur in two forms reversible and irreversible. With reversible pulpits, your tooth will remain painful, but the dental pulp will heal and improve. Unfortunately, if you have irreversible pulpits, the dental pulp does not recover until you have root canal treatment.
• Radiating Pain: It is common to feel radiating pain in the surrounding teeth near the affected tooth. The phenomenon is known as radiating pain, causing discomfort in areas other than the source of the pain.
• Allergic Reactions: Pain after tooth fillings can also be an allergic reaction to the materials placed in the tooth. You might notice rashes or itching close to the affected tooth. Contact the dentist if you have an allergic reaction.

How to Ease Tooth-Filling Pain?

If you experience pain after a tooth filling, do not sit wondering why does my filling hurt. You can help alleviate the pain by taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications besides temporarily refraining from having hot and cold foods. In addition, you must brush and floss your teeth gently and temporarily avoid acidic foods such as citrus fruits, wine, and yogurt. Using a desensitizing toothpaste and chewing from the other side of the mouth also helps to provide relief.

Problems with your bite are the most common reason for the pain. You must contact the dentist as soon as possible if you notice a change in your bite. You may feel the feeling after the numbness in your mouth has worn off. Dentists can adjust the filling to ensure it better matches your remaining teeth.

If you have developed pulpits and the problem doesn’t resolve by itself in a few weeks, you may need a root canal.

When to See a Dentist for Tooth Filling Pain?

The pain from tooth fillings should subside within two to four weeks. Unfortunately, if the pain doesn’t diminish or get better or extends for over four weeks, consider it time to visit your dentist to determine the cause of the discomfort.

Discomfort after getting tooth fillings is standard and, in most cases, subsides within the timeline mentioned earlier. However, if the pain continues, you must seek the advice of your dentist to ensure you don’t have a severe problem with your teeth.

Image Dental performs many restorative procedures filling and sealing decayed and damaged teeth from tooth decay. Consult them to restore your permanently damaged teeth with tooth fillings, confident that you will receive appropriate advice on the discomfort you might experience and when to contact them if it doesn’t subside.