Re: Filling replacement

Christi,

When people have sensitive teeth after getting fillings, the first thing to check is the bite.  But, I assume your dentist and the Oral Surgeon already checked for that.  So, My next guess is that the dentist may not have properly removed the fillings.  It takes great skill to remove big mercury fillings.  Do you know if he drilled them or cut them?  It is possible that the new fillings are incompatible and sometimes that can cause some pain, but your pain does not sound like incompatibility.  One thing you should do is find out the name of the filling and ask your dr for an MSDS on it, just so you know what he put in.  They have to let you see it.  The dentist may have gotten too close to the pulp when replacing these.  And, some people are more sensitive than others, also.  Perhaps he should have done crowns instead of fillings.  But, once in a while, it is the not the filling material, but the way it was put in.  Some filling materials are tricky and things have to be done in a specific time frame.  If it was that or if you are more sensitive, there are a couple of possiblities for dentists. 

I would not go back to the same Dentist who did this, because he obviously doesn't know what to do for you.  The fillings may simply need to be done over again.  That may do the trick.  Sometimes teeth are sensitive and can take a few months to get back to normal.  But, the pain (sensitivity) should decreases slowly over that time (generally it is 2 months or so).  The Dentist has to assess the situation and if he feels it may not lessen the pain by replacing them with regular filling material at this time, he can opt to use ZOE (zinc oxide eugenol) medicated fillings.  These are used to calm down upset nerves in teeth.  If you continue in this pain and do not get relief, the nerves can die and you can lose teeth.  In fact, it is already a possibility, but let's hope for the best.  Also, some may need a crown and medicated cement.  Generally when a dentist uses the medicated cement or a medicated filling, they leave it 2 to 4 months.  The tooth gets less sensitive over that time and then they can use regular materials again.  It is difficult to find a good Dentist, so I wish you luck with this. For permanent fillings, I recommend DiamondLite or DiamondCrown.  Those are the most compatible with people.  If that is not available, then I recommend you get a biocompatibility test.  You can find instructions on this page: