Why Does Your Tooth Hurt After A Filling?

While fillings are usually straightforward procedures, some patients do experience some pain after having a tooth filled. Why do teeth sometimes hurt after this treatment?

Procedure After Effects

Teeth will sometimes hurt after a filling because of the work your dentist does during the procedure. For example, if you have a local anesthetic, then the site might feel sore for a while. Your tooth itself might hurt if you have had a large or deep filling. If your dentist had to drill out a lot of decay or go deep inside a tooth, then it's not unusual to have some pain for a day or two after the procedure. Your tooth can feel quite bruised and sore. This pain should pass as your tooth heals.

Some people also have sensitivity pain after a filling. Again, this is often down to the work your dentist had to do on the tooth. This pain usually isn't constant. You're more likely to feel it when you eat or drink something hot or cold. Sweet food and drinks might also hurt. Again, this pain should settle on its own.

Bite Problems

Dentists smooth fillings down to fit your bite. They make sure that the filling doesn't interfere with your bite when you eat. However, this isn't an exact science. Sometimes, filings can stick up or down a little too much on the tooth. When your teeth come together, the filling gets in the way. This can give you a twinge of pain. You need to tell your dentist what is happening. They can smooth down the filling to make it better fit your bite. Once they do this, your pain should go away.

Referred Pain

Some people have pain in their teeth around a newly-filled tooth. The tooth itself feels fine; however, one or more adjacent teeth start to hurt. This is often down to referred pain. The filled tooth is sending pain signals which are picked up by other teeth. Although they hurt, they don't actually have a problem. This pain should go away on its own.

Deeper Tooth Problems

Fillings deal with obvious dental decay. However, sometimes, a tooth will have problems with a deeper internal infection in its pulp. This infection sometimes starts or becomes obvious after filling work when your dentist opens your tooth.

If you have a constant dull throbbing pain that doesn't recede over time, then you might have an abscess infection under the filling. This normally needs root canal work, and you might need antibiotics first to manage the infection. This problem needs urgent attention as the infection will not go away on its own and will get worse. If your problem doesn't fix itself after a few days, or if you are in severe pain now, then contact your dentist.

For more information, reach out to a local dentist.