How long before pain in filling should settle?

Joined
Jul 3, 2019
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Hello!
I had a rather big filling done last week. The dentist told me at the end that it was quite a deep one. Since having it, I still generally have the exact same pain as prior to the filling being done maybe even a little worse? It doesn’t hurt to bite, there’s no instant reaction to hot or cold. It just seems to hurt intermittently on its own accord. Is it just a case of it will take a while to recover?

I went back today to ask dentist to take a look but he seemed to think it was just going to take a bit longer to heal- no xrays were done though to check! It seems annoying that after thinking I was getting my pain sorted... it has amounted to the same or more pain!
 

honestdoc

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Jun 14, 2018
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Unfortunately you may experience pain and or sensitivity after fillings...usually the deeper the filling, the more pain. I tell people not to overwhelm the tooth with anything too cold for it may damage the nerve (pulp) of the tooth. We can't predict the time it takes for the tooth to settle down. If you have intolerable pain, that means the nerve is damaged. If you have swelling around the tooth, it means the nerve died and became infected. Both of those scenarios means you need a root canal, core filling and crown to save the tooth or extract the tooth. Don't wait for the cavity to get too big to get it fixed.
 

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Joined
Jul 3, 2019
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Thanks for your reply! It’s not excruciating pain, It’s not the kind of pain that would keep me awake at night. It’s just annoying but I’m an anxious person and do tend to let myself get transfixed by things if I know it’s not “perfect”

It’s settled down today in that it isn’t hurting as spontaneously throughout the day. It does hurt a little if I chew on it however. I will go back to the dentist in a few weeks if it still hasn’t settled. He did tell me that he filled it very close to the gum line which worries me that it’s maybe a bit too close.
 

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MattKW

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Mar 18, 2018
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After deep decay, particularly if there has been preceding pain, then there is greater uncertainty as to whether the nerve (pulp) will recover from the damage leading up to the filling, plus the damage we have to do in order to remove the decay. As long as you're not requiring regular painkillers, and it doesn't disturb your sleep, then you are going OK, and I would wait 2 weeks or unless there is worsening. The tooth might even "die quietly" and seemingly settle down, just to come back with a vengeance weeks or months later.
 

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