Ongoing Pain after Dental Filling - What Should I Do?

mboy on 23/05/2025 - 19:51
Last edited 23/05/2025 - 19:58 by 1 other user

I had a filling done in February at a reputable local Dental Clinic that I've been going to for 5+ years. Since that filling, I have intermittent sharp pains when biting on the tooth that had the filling done. Even soft stuff like rice or salad will often trigger the pain. It's becoming very annoying to live with - I've been forcing myself to chew on one side of my mouth but I'll occasionally forget.

Since February, I've been back to the dentist 4 times to try and fix the issue:

  1. Assessment, polishing the filling and fluoride varnish (~10 mins)
  2. Assessment and fluoride varnish (~5 mins)
  3. Filling replaced (ie. re-do) (~25 mins)
  4. Assessment, xray, polishing the filling and fluoride varnish (~15 mins)

In each of these visits, I was told to wait 1-2 weeks for the filling to settle, which it never did. In the most recent visit, I was told to wait 1-2 months.

My main issue now is that although each of these subsequent 4 visits were no-gap, they still charged my health insurance, so they've exhausted my 'General Dental' limit. That means that if I go to another dentist to get a second opinion, I'll be paying completely out of pocket, which is a tough pill to swallow - tougher still if it's a chewable pill.

So what should I do? Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Should the same clinic be responsible for providing me with a resolution (especially since they've already drained my extras quota)?

Health & Beauty Dental

Comments

    • AustriaBargain on 23/05/2025 - 20:59

      Ibuprofen will be better for tooth pain.

      • jv on 23/05/2025 - 21:18
        -4

        Opioids ?

      • BoltThrower on 26/05/2025 - 23:20

        For me, clove oil has been a god-send. Johnny Walker Red Label works well too, just holding it in the mouth.

    • Dreamcast on 27/05/2025 - 21:32

      Silly, even for you mate

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 23/05/2025 - 19:58
    +15

    Get a second opinion, sure it sucks it’s out of pocket but it’s clear your current provider isn’t helping if you’re in the same or worse pain… was the filling on top of the tooth or between?

    One time I got a filling, but it was a tricky one between two tight teeth. When I was flossing I apparently managed to splinter a piece of the filling off and into my gums causing intense pain and swelling…

    • mboy on 23/05/2025 - 20:02
      +1

      top of the tooth or between

      Top

      When I was flossing I apparently managed to splinter a piece of the filling off and into my gums causing intense pain and swelling

      Oof, that sounds painful.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 23/05/2025 - 20:06
        +5

        top

        Like @ Benoffie said below-
        Says to me a more serious underlying issue like nerve issue, or they didn’t clean the cavity out right and there’s still something inside.

        • gromit on 24/05/2025 - 22:51
          +1

          Depending on the depth of the filling sometimes you can definitely get some intermittent pain or temp sensitivity afterwards. My last filling took 2 months to settle down, i was warned beforehand though as the filling was right down to the nerve.

    • Dr Phil on 24/05/2025 - 07:53

      There isnt much option here for OP so I agree with Jimothy

      Go see another dentist.

      As for the "no gap" bit - that refers to what you pay "out of pocket"
      Not what the dentist charges against your health insurance.

  • Benoffie on 23/05/2025 - 20:01
    +17

    1 - stop going back. See another Dentist
    2 - ask them to check via Xray and cold test whether there's a crack or nerve exposure
    3 - correct
    4 - take evidence of FU back to Dentist one
    5 - profit

    (When I was in similar scenario, I went to Endodontist. I'll never get canal or crown work done by Dentists anymore)

    • Ciderfizz44 on 26/05/2025 - 00:25
      +1

      A dinosaur? What

    • kiitos on 26/05/2025 - 16:59

      Can you detect cracks via x-ray?

      • Benoffie on 26/05/2025 - 17:42
        +1

        It's hit n miss. It's why they do things like staining, cold tests, bites etc. Xray is more to see if the dentist stuffed up the drilling for the filling and perhaps exposed the nerve, now requiring a root canal or a crown vs filling.

  • Kongzi on 23/05/2025 - 20:51
    +2

    Leave a review

    • AustriaBargain on 23/05/2025 - 21:00

      Dentists can afford some of the best lawyers around.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 23/05/2025 - 21:47
        +3

        Just ensure to leave a true account of the facts and nothing but the facts.

        • AustriaBargain on 23/05/2025 - 22:24
          -8

          The lawyer can still afford to sue you which forced you to attend court like a dozen times and figure out the whole civil court process by yourself just for this one claim that he can drop at any time he wants, or forces you to hire your own lawyer but again he can drop the claim whenever he wants wasting your money.

      • Miami Mall Alien on 27/05/2025 - 14:41

        That's precisely why you should have throwaway, anonymous Google accounts with no identifying personal information added to them, for.

        I use these to leave the odd (thoroughly justified) negative review for businesses as you never know what kind of petty tyrant you might rile up. Generally speaking, most businesses that actually give a sh*t about negative Google reviews (many don't) will simply raise a case with Google to have the negative review removed.

  • Banana3 on 23/05/2025 - 20:59
    +12

    I have very similar issue. According to the endodontist that I consulted with, this is apparently quite common. The most common cause is the white filling material that is now widely used by dentists is not bonding well with the tooth, creating micro gaps between the filling and the tooth. He recommended replacing the filling with amalgam. Unfortunately for my case, that didn't solve the problem either, since mine is likely caused by the filling being too deep close to the pulp. You might want to get a referral to see a good endodontist if the dentist can't solve your problem. If they keep redoing the filling over and over, you may end up worsening it, like what has happened to mine.

    • Lastchancetosee on 24/05/2025 - 10:37

      Or an oral surgeon.

    • kiitos on 26/05/2025 - 17:00

      What did the endodontist end up doing? Root canal?

      • Banana3 on 26/05/2025 - 18:42

        Long story, but yes eventually will need a root canal treatment. It's being scheduled. The multiple filling and re-fillings have made it so bad that at one point I had an excruciating pain that (almost) no pain killer could help. It lasted for two days. Then all gone, no more pain, no more sensitivity. I thought it was finally somehow healed. Unfortunately, according to the endodontist, that was actually the symptoms of the nerve dying (or have died). So, root canal to fill in the space where the nerve was, otherwise I could get infection in the canal.

        • kiitos on 26/05/2025 - 23:08
          +1

          Ah, good luck!

        • watwatwat on 27/05/2025 - 01:05

          Nooooo. I would not get a root canal. No way. Get the tooth extracted and then get an implant to have a solution that will last the rest of your life.

          My qualification is online research.

          I would like you to bookmark this comment and then in 15 years come back and tell me I was right.

          • NotReallyaMoneySaver on 27/05/2025 - 09:23

            @watwatwat: You know I am curious. Why do it your way rather than a root canal from a person who is a professional?

            • watwatwat on 27/05/2025 - 16:39

              @NotReallyaMoneySaver: That is a good question. But remember dentists are biased because they need to make money.

              There are also dentists who know how to do root canals to try and fix a problem by they don't know how to do implants.

              Also they are not incentivised for a solution to last 40 years, whereas if they can get away with 10 years, that is ok for them.

          • Trance N Dance on 27/05/2025 - 15:13

            @watwatwat: Implants aren't a guarantee and don't last the rest of your life either.

            • watwatwat on 27/05/2025 - 16:41

              @Trance N Dance: Well that's pretty much incorrect. The implant should last a lifetime. If you result shred the crown after 20 years, you can take off the old crown and screw in a brand new one to the existing implant.

              • Trance N Dance on 27/05/2025 - 16:52

                @watwatwat: Poor hygiene and/or maintenance can and will lead to implant loss.
                Implants can flower under load, resulting in loss.
                Implants can last a long time under ideal conditions, yes. But they can also fail (not everyone will maintain their implants under perfect conditions).

                Making a blanket statement that implants will last the rest of your life is pretty much incorrect. Implants as a procedure have an inherent failure rate, where even if everything is done correctly and to no fault of anyone, the implant fails to osseointegrate leading to failure and loss.

                • watwatwat on 27/05/2025 - 19:32

                  @Trance N Dance: Oh yeah, did I say absolutely 100%? There are various reasons why implants could fail:

                  • Attacked by a dog and dog eats your face and swallows your implants.
                  • Stick face inside industrial machinery that slices your jaw off.
                  • Face is burned in a fire and mouth falls apart.
                  • 5secondrule on 30/05/2025 - 18:13

                    @watwatwat: Implants can also fail for other entirely mundane and common reasons:
                    - peri-implantitis, which is like gum disease on teeth but implants instead
                    - prosthetic failure, where the crown fails but hopefully not the implant. You'll still be down around 2k to replace it. This would be the most likely reason for failure
                    - fixture failure, titanium can still crack and fail

                    There's a reason why dentists don't immediately bin your tooth and stick implants everywhere if root canal treatment is an option. It's a pretty reliable treatment option that gives you more time using your own tooth. If that fails you can still do an implant later. If your implant fails, well your options are that much more limited.

                    • kiitos on 30/05/2025 - 20:41

                      @5secondrule: If a tooth is cracked, can it still be saved?

                      • Protractor on 30/05/2025 - 21:02

                        @kiitos: Don't think so. Constant grinding, high loads of jaw pressure etc. You might be able to salvage parts of it, but that aint 'saving the tooth'.Generally it would need some sort of life shortening modification.
                        (Not a professional)

                    • watwatwat on 31/05/2025 - 00:44

                      @5secondrule:

                      gives you more time using your own tooth. If that fails you can still do an implant later.

                      Yeah, so rather than a one-and-done procedure with an implant, your idea is an uncomfortable root canal (and pay for it), only for it to get infected 10 years later (questionable because the nerve was removed so you don't even know it's infected for a while) and then you go and need to pay for the implant anyway.

                      gives you more time using your own tooth

                      This sounds like a good thing, and yet it is not a good thing at all.

                • kiitos on 27/05/2025 - 22:50

                  @Trance N Dance: I was wondering if things like gingivitis could affect things like the point of the implants in the jaw?

                  What does an implant flower mean? Expanding in its socket?

                  What maintenance is required for implants?

    • Benoffie on 26/05/2025 - 17:46
      +1

      Yes, some people (like myself) have deep pits and ceramic fillings are useless.

      Amalgam are best for these and long lasting but becoming rarer.

  • scrimshaw on 23/05/2025 - 21:04
    +6

    Tooth crack sounds likely, a tooth that has had a filling will be weaker than a complete tooth since filling is weaker than tooth structure. When a tooth is cracked or split, it becomes a lot more sensitive to hot and cold and if the crack is large enough it'll hurt to chew in it since that tooth is actually splitting apart as you put pressure on it. Try to keep your mouth clean as much as possible (mouth wash and brush after meals) and make another appointment

    You might want to ask your dentist to investigate that tooth and try to identify the crack, which they will attempt to save by applying either a tooth band (cheap treatment) or dental crown (expensive treatment). They will usually use a Fracfinder (bite test) or teeth staining to try and locate the crack, if they can't they sometimes refer you to a specialist (endo?) to 3d scan your teeth to locate fine cracks.

    Other cause might be bite misalignment where the filling is too high and not shaped enough to match your natural bite.

    • Protractor on 23/05/2025 - 22:52
      -4

      If it's any of your guesses,then the dentist must be an incompetent butcher for not discovering it.

  • Buwwy on 23/05/2025 - 22:26
    +1

    What was the initial diagnosis?
    The first two that come to mind is crack tooth or a poorly bonded filling.
    A second opinion would help

  • Protractor on 23/05/2025 - 22:51

    Kiss the tooth goodbye & get an implant

    • fantombloo on 24/05/2025 - 08:19

      Kiss the tooth goodbye

      If it's not overtly visible / you don't care and you can function fine without then consider skipping the implant - that's just more future maintenance.

    • Ciderfizz44 on 26/05/2025 - 00:26

      Kith*

  • leiiv on 23/05/2025 - 23:30
    +10

    Similar thing happened to me. Exactly same symptoms. The difference is that my case was caused by a dentist replacing my old filling which is totally unnecessary. The old filling (and the tooth) had no issue before at all. So I went back to the dentist and she told me to just take panadol and ibuprofen. Obviously that didn't help. So after many visits and many dentists, including specialists, without any result, this one dentist finally relented and tried to totally get rid of the old fillings, drilled in and looked at what's inside. I don't really understand what causes it, but he said that I needed a root canal, and off I went with it and no more pain after that.

    It still baffled me that all the dentists don't believe me when I said it is painful and just thought that it was just a sensitive tooth (aka the fluoride varnish). Hellooo!! I can tucking tell the difference between real pain and sensitive stuff!! And there is this one dentists who even said she replaced the filling (like your #3) but I suspected that she did not drilled deep enough and not really redoing all the filling. I could somehow feel it when she did it and knew that it's not really "replaced". So don't trust them when they said the filling is replaced.

    TLDR: get a root canal.

    • BigBirdy on 24/05/2025 - 10:01
      +3

      I had one like this. Multiple visits to the same dentist, X-rays, etc. eventually he just drilled it deeply, no anaesthetic, and determined it was the root.

    • crentist on 25/05/2025 - 22:42

      I went through the same. Then it happened again following the root canal. It developed into an abscessed tooth, one of the largest my (second) dentist had seen. Basically, decay beyond the tooth and into the surrounding bone.

      Fixing that was two hours of incredible pain. Couldn't use too much anaesthetic because the size of the abscess meant it wasn't fully visible to the dentist. In some spots he'd have to gently tap around until I signalled that I felt some (sharp & intense) pain, and then he'd scrub and scrub until it was all gone.
      You know that feeling when your captor chisels a hole to your brain and then scrapes out the goo inside?

      So yea, get a second opinion.

      • kiitos on 26/05/2025 - 23:11

        Yikes! Why was your pain feedback needed to guide him? That sounds awful!

        • crentist on 27/05/2025 - 02:07

          The decay extended deep and then wide, maybe behind another tooth or something. So he could blindly poke around a corner and clean most of the soft decaying tissue, but couldn't easily tell if he had cleaned out everything. And since it only hurt where it was infected, that's how we made sure it was all cleaned out.

          I should probably mention that lots, but still not quite enough anaesthetic was being used until this point. But we stopped topping it up for this stage, and it wore off quick…

  • Muppet Detector on 24/05/2025 - 00:02

    Since that filling, I have intermittent sharp pains when biting on the tooth that had the filling done.

    Did you have this pain before the filling or did the filling cause this pain?

    I'm no dentist, but if the filling caused the pain, I'd be expecting the dentist who did the filling to explain why they're not responsible.

    If you got the filling because you had the pain, the current dentist doesn't seem to know what else to do so they can fix it.

    Yes, you need to pay for whatever work they have done (unless they gave you some kind of guarantee they could fix it).

    But IMO, you've given the first guys enough opportunities to fix it, I'd be finding somewhere else to go from now on, at least for this tooth.

  • Vakua on 24/05/2025 - 06:53
    +5

    Had a similar problem so I switched to Sensodyne Toothpaste (this is not an Ad!). This stuff is full of micro thingys that gradual fill in the micro holes and gaps in teeth and fillings. It was also what was recommended by my Endodontist. Took about 6 months to completely settle down the tooth, so it's not a 'quick fix' treatment, but it did work.

    • mboy on 24/05/2025 - 19:43
      +1

      I’ve used Sensodyne Daily Care for the last 5+ years. But is it a specific Sensodyne that I should be using, like the Sensodyne “Repair and Protect’?

      • nimrod on 26/05/2025 - 08:19
        +1

        Yes you're right. Sensodyne Daily Care contains potassium nitrate which is just dulling your nerves. Repair and Protect has NovaMin which is meant to fill the micro holes and help with remineralisation.

        I have a lot of fillings in between teeth. I use repair and protect and my dentist tells me to swish it around my mouth after brushing and even floss with it in there, before spitting it out.

  • aocal on 24/05/2025 - 09:52
    +2

    Had a similar problem that the dentist then specialist tried to fix with root canal and other treatments. Nothing helped and I felt like they thought I was imagining the pain. I started using sensodyne and months and months later, no pain!

    • mboy on 24/05/2025 - 19:43

      I’ve asked the question to another person above, but I’ll copy and paste here.

      I’ve used Sensodyne Daily Care for the last 5+ years. But is it a specific Sensodyne that I should be using, like the Sensodyne “Repair and Protect’?

  • Brucet on 24/05/2025 - 10:04
    -2

    I will pull it off and Partial Dentures.

  • Oofy Doofy on 24/05/2025 - 10:09

    Hope you can save the tooth, but if not, a root canal and a crown would be worth the investment (if it's a high percentage chewing-time tooth).

    Rule of thumb, to me, is if a tooth ends up being more than 50% filling, it's time for a crown.

  • Universal Constant on 24/05/2025 - 11:56

    Oil of cloves has a reputation for instantaneous tooth pain relief, but only as an emergency.
    See movie Marathon man 1976, the tooth torcher scene with Dustin Hoffman. The oil of cloves was use to remove the pain when a correct reply was given.

    • BronzingStubble on 24/05/2025 - 15:52
      +1

      Don't do this! I did it on a tooth that was causing me an enormous amount of pain, and it killed the nerve. The tooth is dead afterwards, the nerve doesn't grow back. I was speaking to a dentist about it several months later and he said it was a very bad thing to do.

      I got the idea of using oil of cloves from a book set in the 19th century that I was reading at the time. Maybe it worked in those days, but now it's very much not the thing to do.

      • ak47wong on 24/05/2025 - 23:41

        Self treatment using 19th century medical techniques. What could go wrong?

  • SlickMick on 24/05/2025 - 12:14

    Is it absolutely caused by the filling? The reason I ask is I went to a dentist with a toothache, but they couldn't find a problem. The only thing they could suspect is the gum may have receded and become sensitive. She managed to find $600 worth of things to try though! The ache remained for a couple more days then disappeared…. for a couple of years, up until a couple of weeks ago.

    I suspect that however I deal with stress, I'm somehow triggering a nerve that manifests as a toothache. Despite the negs to @jv and @AustriaBargain above, I was above to get through it with Ibuprofen and oil of clove. (Oil of clove gives some immediate relief until the Ibuprofen kicks in.) I did that every 4 hours, and after a couple of days I found that the ache disappeared.

    I have no idea whether that is a thing, but I got better results than the dentist.

  • Primus Pilus on 24/05/2025 - 12:44

    Is it an upper tooth?

    • mboy on 24/05/2025 - 19:45

      Lower back tooth, two places behind the canine.

      • Primus Pilus on 25/05/2025 - 08:42

        OK not what I was thinking then. I had a very similar story to yours but my tooth was an upper molar. The dentist was baffled but my GP diagnosed sinusitis and after treatment the tooth pain disappeared.

  • RotundPolarBear on 24/05/2025 - 12:53
    +2

    I had a similar issue to this and the tooth (or filling) simply needed to be filed down.

    • mboy on 24/05/2025 - 19:46

      Unfortunately, they’ve already tried this a couple of times without any improvement.

  • Jolakot on 24/05/2025 - 14:02
    +3

    I had the same thing, told for months to let it settle, but could barely eat on that side and was told to use more fluoride mouthwash/tooth mousse/Sensodyne with no results.

    Went to an endodontist expecting to have a root canal, but he said it just needed to be filed down properly, took them like 15 minutes and had me bite down at a bunch of different angles, about 75% better now.

    Still have cold sensitivity with that tooth though, the endodontist said he can't really do anything about that other than recommend sensitive toothpaste. Apparently the filling material is more thermally conductive, so it 'absorbs' the coldness and then transmits it to the nerve or something like that.

  • Sensiekatie on 24/05/2025 - 16:01

    No idea if yours is similar to my issue. I had pain similar to what you are describing. They weren't able to isolate cause and I ended up with 3 teeth being filled (different visits) and one was a very deep and horrid experience. I still had the problem and j was about to go in holidays and didn't want to live like that. Anything touching that tooth area gave me the pain. I so had quite a gap between 2 teeth and food was sticking in there and seemed to be adding to the discomfort.

    This has been done at a public dental clinic and the person doing the actual filling and shaping was the Supervisor of a 5th year student die to complexity. I went to the private dentist I had gone to when I was working. He very quickly assessed the situation and told me the filling had been shaped incorrectly and didn't have enough contact with the next door tooth. He did a small filling and corrected the shaping so there was contact with the tooth and I no longer had a big gap for food to get caught. It was just under $300. I was sceptical that the pain I was experiencing would be because of this rather than some issues with the tooth itself. However it went away totally and I was pain free.

  • DazMon on 24/05/2025 - 18:32

    I noticed you didn't mention X-ray anywhere.
    My Dentist does them at the drop of a hat.

    • mboy on 24/05/2025 - 19:48

      I did, on return visit #4: “Assessment, xray, polishing the filling and fluoride varnish (~15 mins)”.

  • Logical on 24/05/2025 - 19:01

    Root canal is your answer

    • Protractor on 24/05/2025 - 19:53
      +1

      …with a different dentist.

  • mrfuku on 24/05/2025 - 20:00

    Post up the xray

  • CascadeHush on 24/05/2025 - 20:30
    +1

    Move to a country that doesn’t arbitrarily exclude the mouth from regular healthcare because the dental lobby are (profanity).

    • kr0nix on 25/05/2025 - 14:14
      +1

      Disclaimer: I'm a dentist.

      This issue has been a long standing point of debate within the dental community for a number of years. It may surprise you to learn that a recent survey of dental practitioners found that 64.7% supported the expansion of Medicare to include more dental services!

      Even those not in favour of expansion tend to support increased funding for public dental clinics (which are chronically underfunded with long wait lists). The oft-cited success story of socialised dentistry, the UK's NHS, is badly underfunded, forcing clinics to maximise patient volume to make ends meet (similar to the reputation earned by bulk billing GP practices here in Australia). One could argue that dental practices could simply charge a gap, but recall that the lack of bulk billing GP practices was a major political point at the federal election.

      My personal thoughts are that a government that is already struggling to maintain bulk billing GP practices for the population has simply no capacity to fund the expansion of Medicare to include dentistry.

      So no, it's not as simple as "dentists greedy".

      • mrfuku on 25/05/2025 - 19:50

        That sample represents 2% of all practitioners registered, while it met their power calculation I would hardly say that its representative of the majority of dentists.

        Most of the states already have heavily discounted public services for those who meet the criteria, and some public facilities (e.g. Melbourne) offer ridiculously low fees even for those who don't meet their typical eligibility criteria.

        • kr0nix on 25/05/2025 - 21:05

          Block-quote That sample represents 2% of all practitioners registered, while it met their power calculation I would hardly say that its representative of the majority of dentists.

          Sure and that's an acknowledged limitation of the study. The reason I brought that up was to contest the argument that dentistry not being included in Medicare was due to stonewalling by dentists, which is simply conjecture at this point.

          Block-quote Most of the states already have heavily discounted public services for those who meet the criteria, and some public facilities (e.g. Melbourne) offer ridiculously low fees even for those who don't meet their typical eligibility criteria.

          Yes, these facilities exist, but they simply don't have the capacity to treat all of their eligible patients in a timely manner. Many patients end up on long wait lists, which inevitably leads to deterioration of their oral health in the meantime. Furthermore, treatments are limited in scope compared to private practices, so as to stretch the budget to accommodate as many patients as possible. And lastly, there are some folks that simply can't afford to pay, however little

        • downbythecreek on 26/05/2025 - 07:08
          +3

          I feel like I am reading DPR

  • mrvaluepack on 24/05/2025 - 21:43

    Unfortunately it sounds like you have a small crack somewhere in that tooth. My advice, just get it extracted if its not a visible tooth (tooth that can be seen when you smile for pictures). If it is a visible tooth, maybe try and get it crowned. The longer you leave it, the higher the risk the crack will become worse and you will bite into something and the tooth wil split in 2.

  • urahara on 24/05/2025 - 21:53
    +1

    It's a nerve or a crack.
    Ask for endodontist referral and they can assess using cone beam ct
    Ask clinic to cover the cost of independent 2nd opinion , if it falls raise it with you insurance
    At any cost , unless forced by super experts, dont get rid of your original tooth

    • kiitos on 26/05/2025 - 23:15

      Can a cracked tooth be saved?

  • Jackson on 25/05/2025 - 00:51
    +1

    I had a similar problem, I didn't have a filling but I had pain in my molar for years, only occasionally if I bit something at the wrong angle I would get a sharp pain. Visited the dentist a few times, always got the all clear but they did say there were some hairline fracture marks tht were hardly visible, they said it might just be in the enamel. One day I was eating popcorn (not even hard bits) and a piece broke off (felt huge but was tiny). Once I got it filled the problem has disappeared.

    Upshot is that you might have a hairline fracture, and until that piece comes off or is filled in a way that it's held together (if that's even possible), you may keep getting pain

  • cloudy on 25/05/2025 - 09:17

    This is what I think is wrong with health care in general, it’s an activity based paying system not an outcome based one. Meaning as long as something is done they get paid, whether it’s done for good or bad. In fact, doing something badly or poorly is often financially good for the provider as the client will come back with more business.

    But this is obviously bad for OP, the public generally.

  • Zapwap on 25/05/2025 - 14:12
    +1

    Have had the same issue for over 6 months after filling. In my case, apparently, there was nothing wrong with the filling and it may be due to the tooth being too sensitive. For instance, I use to get that sensitive pain when I chewed on grainy stuff. It went away gradually or at least my tooth got used to it, and I also used sensodyne for an extended period of time. Sensodyne worked really well for me actually.

    My advice would be to give it some time and use toothpastes like sensodyne if possible.

    I still to date get that pain once in a while as for some people the filling might cause some discomfort for an extended period of time, and it doesn't necessarily mean there's something wrong with the way filling was done.

    YMMV though.

    • mboy on 25/05/2025 - 21:55

      Appreciate the reply. I have been using Sensodyne ‘Daily Care’ for 5+ years. But are you suggesting a specific Sensodyne toothpaste (like ‘Repair & Protect’)?

      • zztrader on 25/05/2025 - 23:50

        If you still have the pain ongoing, try some clove oil and a Q tip and damp the Q tip and rub it around the tooth causing the pain.

        Do that after dinner so you dont have the clove taste while you eat. Also its good for abcess too. Good luck with that.

      • Zapwap on 26/05/2025 - 12:52

        Doesn't matter, actually they all look same to me. But may be try applying and leaving the paste for 2-3 mins and then brush slowly. I use to leave it for 4 mins when it was too sensitive. And no, it didn't not affect enamel or tooth color etc.

  • liamisred on 25/05/2025 - 21:05

    Just get another health cover with no wait period for the second opinion - e.g medibank/some AHM extras

    • liamisred on 25/05/2025 - 21:06

      Or the switch to a health fund that changes up extras EOFY (e.g AHM, Peoplecare)

  • Ciderfizz44 on 26/05/2025 - 00:27

    Time for a crown

  • SpaceNinja on 26/05/2025 - 00:44

    Time to join Fight Club

  • dan2k on 26/05/2025 - 10:33

    I had a similar issue, where after a filling was replaced, I had a lot of pain every time anything was squashed between the painful tooth (rear molar) and it's upper counterpart (ie regular chewing of anything hard).

    I went back to my dentist 4 times to resolve it, each time they tried a different approach trimming the filling down. Eventually solved by cutting away part of the tooth so it can no longer touch the tooth opposite. its shorter now, basically.

    But they DIDN'T charge for any of the subsequent visits at all. so winning I guess?

  • takezo on 26/05/2025 - 11:21
    +1

    I had heaps of sensitivity a year or so back. One of teeth had an old filling which was replaced, however the sensitivity persisted. Eventually it became full on pain in other areas. I removed a wisdom tooth which the dentist thought may have been putting pressure and causing the issue. NY eve a few years back the pain was unbearable and my regular dentist was closed.

    Went and saw a dentist at a place nearby which was open. Within about 10 minutes the dentist had x-rayed my teeth and said I had pretty bad gum disease. He deep cleaned the areas which were aching and referred me to a periodontist. All of this came as a shock as I had been seeing my dentist every 6 months for a check up and clean for over 10 years and he'd not once mentioned anything about serious gum disease.

    My teeth are now pain free and have not been sensitive in over a year (with a new dentist obviously). So in a long winded way I'd say make sure your gums are healthy as they could be causing the issues.

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