How to Relieve Pain after Cavity Filling?
When dentists detect cavities in your tooth, they recommend cavity fillings as an affordable, accessible and painless remedy to repair the permanent damage in your tooth. However, while pain after cavity filling is expected and mild, it doesn’t indicate it is not bothersome.
This article explores why you might feel pain in the tooth and jaw after a cavity filling and how to manage the discomfort.
Is Pain after Cavity Fillings Normal?
Whether you feel pain after permanent tooth filling depends on many factors. Therefore predicting post filling is challenging. For example, you might be one of the many prone to developing post-procedure discomfort. In addition, you might experience pain after receiving a dental filling if you have sensitive teeth, suffer from gingivitis or periodontal disease, or have untreated tooth infections or crowding. Unfortunately, patients unrelated to these factors may also experience discomfort after getting a tooth filled. However, to determine why they experience pain, we must explore what cavities are and how they are treated.
Why Might You Feel Pain after Getting a Tooth Filled?
A cavity is a hole or site of deep decay in your tooth. Cavities develop over time, and the most common reasons for them include poor oral hygiene and having a sugary diet. As a hole worsens, it begins to affect the inner parts of the tooth extending to the tooth root and nerve, causing a painful experience. Generally, most cavities are not painful. How then do you experience pain when getting cavity filling?
Mild discomfort after getting a tooth filling results from a change in pressure. After receiving a filling, a part of your tooth stripped by the bacteria is replaced with a robust filling. The filler changes the movement of air and saliva across the tooth. In addition, there might be pressure on the gums and the root nerve after the filling. As a result, you might experience pain for a few weeks after getting a tooth filled.
What to Expect When Getting a Tooth Filled?
As mentioned earlier, getting a tooth filled involves using a robust filler. The material helps cover and fill the enamel eroded by the bacteria by decay and corrosion.
Various materials help make tooth fillers. They are gold, silver, porcelain, composite resin, and glass ionomer. If you want a budget-friendly option, you can choose tooth-coloured composite resin fillings. Silver amalgam, porcelain, and gold are more expensive materials.
Before placing fillers in the tooth, the family dentist Etobicoke prepares the tooth by applying a numbing gel on the gum line and cleans the affected tooth. The dentist might also remove parts of the tooth structure to eliminate decay. The procedure helps the filler to fit snugly inside the cavity. In addition, the cleaning and filling help prevent additional infections and decay. Finally, the dentist polishes any excess material to leave you with a smooth tooth. While the entire procedure is virtually painless, you might feel pressure when applying the filler.
Pain after getting a tooth filling is not standard among all people. However, the added pressure can irritate your gums and teeth, causing mild discomfort.
Can I Take Painkillers after a Cavity Filling?
While pain from cavity fillings is generally mild, it can still make everyday tasks challenging. Fortunately, there are techniques to dull the pain after getting fillers. Therefore you shouldn’t express surprise if your dentist hands you a prescription for some painkillers. Generally, prescription painkillers are not recommended by dentists who suggest you take over-the-counter pain relievers besides using a cold compress on your cheeks and jaw and using toothpaste to lessen gum sensitivity. The optimal option depends on your requirements and preferences.
Do Cavity Fillings Hurt the Next Day?
The pain from cavity fillings might last for a week. However, if the discomfort extends beyond a week, you must contact your dentist for an emergency appointment because the pain indicates you might have a severe issue in the tooth.
Cavities are a chronic condition among children and adults because of the sugary diet consumed. While getting cavity fillings is generally painless, experiencing some discomfort is not abnormal. Over-the-counter pain relievers help you manage the pain. However, dental hygiene is vital to ensure you don’t develop cavities to need fillings. Unfortunately, if you have cavities on your teeth, getting dental fillings is inevitable to prevent the permanent damage from expanding until it reaches the soft center of your tooth; the dental pulp to make you a victim of root canal treatments.
West Humber Dentistry provides cavity fillings to many patients advising them on post-procedure care after restoring their teeth. If you need fillers in your tooth, kindly schedule an appointment with the practice to receive your therapeutic treatment.