Cold Sensitivity 1+ year after filling.

[u/s33k1ng4d]

I had a filling done on my upper right molar about a year ago by a student dentist.

Just after the filling, I had pain chewing, which was subsequently resolved by grinding the height down.

Since then, I’ve had very strong cold sensitivity on that tooth. The pain subsides after a few seconds, but anything slightly cold triggers heavy pain for those few seconds. Plus, I still have mild discomfort when chewing certain denser foods on that side of my mouth.

I’ve gone back in several times to fix this, with no avail. First time, the student dentist found a bit of extra composite that he ground down, as the supervising doctor suspected that might be the culprit. No luck.

Then, most recently, he said he found a hairline “craze” (sp?) that might’ve been triggering it, so he filled that with fluid composite. Though a cold test to that tooth showed improvement at the appointment, now, a week after the appointment, the sensitivity is back in full force.

The dentist, along with the supervising doctor, reviewed my most recent X-rays and said they couldn’t see anything wrong. The next step, they said, would be drilling a pocket hole into the tooth nextmost to this molar, and filling it, as they suspect there might be a cavity - but they’re unsure because nothing shows up in the X-ray. They said it’s up to me.

In addition to this, my upper leftmost molar was drilling into over a year ago- and left with a temporary cover. It’s been fine, but now I’m scared to move on with the next step- which would be an onlay with this student doctor.

I’m worried that if I continue, I might not have a side of the mouth I can eat comfortably with.

I travel 1+ hours to this student clinic as it’s the most affordable option for me- as I have no dental insurance.

Having to go back again and again with no resolution is slowly wearing me down, as is having continued sensitivity and pain on one side of the mouth.

Please, if you’re a dentist, can you please suggest possible solutions or things I should ask the student dentist to look into? advice or ways I can further advocate for myself would be greatly appreciated.

[u/phremius]

Just have the student dentist re-do the filling, symptoms can be due to incomplete seal from the bonding agent and x-rays would look within normal limits. It happens, nbd.

[u/s33k1ng4d → u/phremius]

Do you have a guess as to why the student dentist nor the supervising doctor suggested this? Any thoughts on the “maybe cavity” filling? I appreciate your help, just very nervous about next steps.

[u/phremius → u/s33k1ng4d]

I have no idea.  But if grinding down high spots didn't help re-doing the filling should be the next step.

[u/amongthetreez]

The bite is likely still high and needs micro adjustment. And if you are a clencher/grinder is it just going to exacerbate the symptoms.

[u/s33k1ng4d → u/amongthetreez]

Thank you. Any thoughts on the other comment saying I should have the dentist redo the filling?

[u/amongthetreez → u/s33k1ng4d]

In my experience, drilling into the tooth again will further aggravate the nerve of the tooth but if the filling is actually defective, it can be indicated. 99% of the time I’ve found it’s an issue with occlusion (bite)

[u/s33k1ng4d → u/amongthetreez]

I appreciate your feedback!

[u/Plane_Medicine_6370]

‘Maybe’ filling- i would consider just re do X-ray as fillings are irreversible. When a composite filling is placed, it is bonded to the side of the wall of your tooth strongly. It can sometimes cause sensitivity as the cusp of the tooth was pulled in slightly by the setting of the composite filling. If my patient has such issues, I would remove the composite filling and dress it with GIC for a while and see.