Two Reasons For Pain With A Dental Filling

It's quite common to have a cavity as an adult, since 91% of people between 20-64 years old have a cavity. When cavity has been filled, it should make any pain go away and not cause you to notice that dental work has been done. However, there may be a time where you feel like that dental filling is aching in your mouth. Here are some reasons why you could be experiencing that sensation.

The Cavity Is Very Deep

Your tooth has a pulp chamber, which is the middle of the tooth that has soft tissues, nerves, and blood vessels. The nerves within your tooth can actually feel sensations that are happening outside of the tooth, even with a filling covering any places where decay has been removed. It can cause you to feel pain if you're biting down on a hard food, or drink something that is very hot or cold.

A very shallow cavity won't come close to the tooth's pulp chamber, making the experience less painful to you. When having a deep cavity filled, a dentist will need to remove the decay that is likely close to your tooth's pulp chamber, which can make the process of drilling the tooth feel very sensitive. Once filled, the deep cavity may be more sensitive due to how close that tooth chamber is.

Your tooth should feel normal a week or two after getting a filling put into a deep cavity, but you should be concerned if that pain doesn't go away. It means that you may actually need a root canal to remove the nerve of the tooth, since that pain won't simply go away on its own. Make a trip back to your dentist to look at the tooth and find out what is going on inside.

The Gums Are Infected

Most cavities occur in the tooth's crown, which means putting a filling in the place where you use the tooth for chewing. However, you may have a cavity along the neck of the tooth, which is the part that is near your gums. These cavities occur due to foot trapped within pockets of the gums. Filling this cavity requires plenty of care, since the gums could become damaged while drilling out the decay.

While you may experience some discomfort after the filling has been put in, let your dentist know if pain has continued beyond one or two weeks. That's an indication that you have an infection that needs to be treated with an antibiotic. Contact a dentist for more help.


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