Dr. Hall
Just wanted to say thank you for a great and informative website. I got some good advice from the section on there about new fillings hurting. I recently had a composite put in and it has been almost 2 weeks. I’m having the unusual sensitivity where it doesn’t hurt to clench down but when I eat it hurts. Your site said that this can usually be remedied if the filling is replaced. I have no problems with my dentist but when I saw him earlier this week he found no infection and no cracking…couldn’t figure out the problem. He was talking root canal which doesn’t scare me other than the cost! I don’t have insurance right now and can’t handle that. Anyway I called them today and told them what I had found and brought it up thinking that a new filling may help. He is going to replace it early in the coming week. The receptionist complimented me for doing my “homework” and asked where I found the info. She had never heard of this issue before and asked if I could print the page and show it to them when I come in. Hope I get a finder’s fee, haha…that or he doesn’t charge me for having to fix this. It’s bad enough I’ll have to shell out money for the original filling but the cavity there in the first place was making it extremely sensitive (reason for my initial visit). This will be my 3rd appt in 3 weeks about this same tooth….hopefully a refill on it fixes the problem! Thanks again 🙂
– Jason from New York
Jason,
Thanks for your kind comments.
When it doesn’t hurt to clench but hurts when you eat, yes, that is almost always this bonding issue. If the dentist uses a self-etching primer, that will practically completely prevent that type of sensitivity. If he doesn’t have a self-etching primer, then he should be careful not to dry the tooth too much after etching. Visible moisture should be removed, but you don’t want the dentin dessicated.
Since the tooth was quite sensitive before it was filled, that kind of weighs on the side that it could be some bacteria in the pulp. Hopefully replacing the filling will do it for you.
– Dr. Hall
About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.