Dental filling - jaw pain a week on
Discussion
Hi all,
Background is pretty good dental health. had a couple of composite fillings 5 or so years back but no problems since, clean twice a day, sometimes floss etc.
For various reasons didn't go to the dentist for 2 years. No pain or problems, but decided I should get them checked this summer. Did so, and despite being told I had good oral health, 4 more fillings needed
Pretty disappointed because I am pretty anal about cleaning them.
Anyway, had 2x composite fillings on one side (top/bottom wisdom teeth) and within a day or two they were OK. A week later, had 1x composite filling and 1x amalgam filling on the opposite side (wisdom tooth at top, tooth in front of wisdom tooth at bottom IIRC, may be the other way round). Amalgam was due to it being a 2-sided filling if that makes sense. Seemed to go well, in fact, less uncomfortable than the first batch of fillings.
Over the next few hours I notice 2 or 3 bits of grit in my mouth, not huge, just a couple of mm across, at various times - clearly part of the process, but not sure if it was "extraneous" or actually part of the filling. Anaesthetic wore off, and usual pain, but I am now a week on and still have a pain in my lower jaw roughly where the anaesthetic injection went if I try to open my mouth all the way, move my jaw to the side, or stick my tongue right out.
I also noticed that the top tooth now feels very jagged - I know they often feel strange after some work, but like I say it has been a week.
I don't want to be paranoid, but it's at odds with my experience with the other side of my mouth just a week earlier. Any dentists here who can tell me whether it's worth ringing up for a checkup? Obviously I'm worried that there shouldn't be pain, and also that maybe bits of filling may have fallen out. Is it normal to have bits of "grit" in your mouth after? He didn't take an impression of my teeth, so it rules out that stuff!
Background is pretty good dental health. had a couple of composite fillings 5 or so years back but no problems since, clean twice a day, sometimes floss etc.
For various reasons didn't go to the dentist for 2 years. No pain or problems, but decided I should get them checked this summer. Did so, and despite being told I had good oral health, 4 more fillings needed
Pretty disappointed because I am pretty anal about cleaning them.Anyway, had 2x composite fillings on one side (top/bottom wisdom teeth) and within a day or two they were OK. A week later, had 1x composite filling and 1x amalgam filling on the opposite side (wisdom tooth at top, tooth in front of wisdom tooth at bottom IIRC, may be the other way round). Amalgam was due to it being a 2-sided filling if that makes sense. Seemed to go well, in fact, less uncomfortable than the first batch of fillings.
Over the next few hours I notice 2 or 3 bits of grit in my mouth, not huge, just a couple of mm across, at various times - clearly part of the process, but not sure if it was "extraneous" or actually part of the filling. Anaesthetic wore off, and usual pain, but I am now a week on and still have a pain in my lower jaw roughly where the anaesthetic injection went if I try to open my mouth all the way, move my jaw to the side, or stick my tongue right out.
I also noticed that the top tooth now feels very jagged - I know they often feel strange after some work, but like I say it has been a week.
I don't want to be paranoid, but it's at odds with my experience with the other side of my mouth just a week earlier. Any dentists here who can tell me whether it's worth ringing up for a checkup? Obviously I'm worried that there shouldn't be pain, and also that maybe bits of filling may have fallen out. Is it normal to have bits of "grit" in your mouth after? He didn't take an impression of my teeth, so it rules out that stuff!
Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Tuesday 1st September 00:29
Go back to the treating dentist for a quick view. The longer you leave it, the less likely you are to trust him/her and thats no good for either of you.
When packing an amalgam you almost always get excess bits of it getting lodged in other places and it is very common to find pieces later on despite rinsing, sometimes even a few days later.
If the top tooth feels rough or jagged, it will probably need a quick smoothing over, unlikely to have lost any filling or tooth.
The injection site to numb lower molars is notorious for post-op discomfort. The needle needs to go through a muscle to reach the nerve and this can lead to a small clot (haematoma) forming which can take anything from a few hrs to a few weeks to dissipate. In the meantime you can experience marked discomfort upon opening and indeed limited opening("trismus").
Sometimes the needle can catch a blood vessel as these are unhelpfully hidden beneath the soft tissues. With everyones anatomy being slightly different, these can be pierced and also lead to discomfort for a while which is reversible.
Lastly, if the needle actually catches the nerve then you can again feel discomfort but sometimes with some loss of feeling..usually temporary but very rarely permanent. A strange sensation in the tongue or lip is characteristic of this.
I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, just pop back in to see your dentist.
When packing an amalgam you almost always get excess bits of it getting lodged in other places and it is very common to find pieces later on despite rinsing, sometimes even a few days later.
If the top tooth feels rough or jagged, it will probably need a quick smoothing over, unlikely to have lost any filling or tooth.
The injection site to numb lower molars is notorious for post-op discomfort. The needle needs to go through a muscle to reach the nerve and this can lead to a small clot (haematoma) forming which can take anything from a few hrs to a few weeks to dissipate. In the meantime you can experience marked discomfort upon opening and indeed limited opening("trismus").
Sometimes the needle can catch a blood vessel as these are unhelpfully hidden beneath the soft tissues. With everyones anatomy being slightly different, these can be pierced and also lead to discomfort for a while which is reversible.
Lastly, if the needle actually catches the nerve then you can again feel discomfort but sometimes with some loss of feeling..usually temporary but very rarely permanent. A strange sensation in the tongue or lip is characteristic of this.
I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, just pop back in to see your dentist.
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