What to do if you feel pain after having a tooth filled

Generally speaking, a filled tooth will no longer hurt, but sometimes there will be pain and swelling after a filling. We say that the cause of this symptom may be that the filling material is too thin, or that the doctor only performed a simple caries filling and directly filled the tooth. It may also be temporary bite pain after the filling. Don’t panic if you experience toothache after filling a tooth. Observe for a few days. If the pain persists, you should see a doctor.

1. Causes of toothache after filling

1. The tooth cavity is too big and the filling material is too thin, which cannot block the cold and hot stimuli that are transmitted to each other, resulting in stinging pain. Just fill it with more material and it will be fine.

2. Nerves need to be killed during treatment. Toothache may occur on the day of nerve blocking or the day after due to medication, but it is not very painful and does not last long. It is temporary pain and you don't need to be too nervous.

3. The disinfectant used during the filling process may have irritated the dental pulp, causing pain from hot or cold stimulation. In this case, don't worry about it, it will be fine in about two days.

4. The doctor only performed simple caries filling and direct filling on the teeth with pulp nerve infection. As the body's resistance decreases or the tooth's own lesions develop and worsen, such teeth will often develop severe swelling and pain.

5. The carious tissue of the teeth was not completely removed during treatment. The doctor's technical level and the patient's lack of understanding of caries treatment are important reasons for incomplete treatment. During treatment, the patient was afraid of pain or worried that the teeth were worn out and not firm, so he repeatedly asked the doctor to grind his teeth as little as possible or not grind his teeth at all before filling the teeth. After treatment, the original carious tissue or the tissue that was not removed continued to expand to the surrounding area, slowly affecting the dental pulp nerves, causing pulpitis, apical periodontitis, swelling and pain.

6. Bite pain after filling is mostly caused by the filling material being too high and early contact during bite. After adjustment, it usually returns to normal in 2 to 3 days.

2. What should I do if I have toothache after filling?

Except for temporary toothache (such as pulp devitalization) that the doctor clearly tells the patient may occur, all other toothaches that occur after tooth filling should be diagnosed and treated in the hospital in order to find out the cause and deal with it in time. Generally speaking, the cause of irritation pain or spontaneous pain in the short term after a tooth filling may be due to certain chemicals in the filling material irritating the pulp or apical tissue; it may also be due to incomplete pulp devitalization. The long-term cause of pain is often secondary caries complicated by pulpitis. Pulp soothing or other endodontic treatment should be performed depending on the specific situation. If you experience severe toothache after a filling, you should go to the dental clinic immediately to find out the cause and deal with it in time. Because tooth lesions are hard tissue diseases, the problem cannot be solved by taking systemic oral anti-inflammatory drugs, and painkillers are only an emergency measure.