Not Fun
I had a tooth filled on Friday. It was an old filling that was “leaking” and there was also a crack in the tooth. So I got my Novocain, he drilled out the old filling, and he put in a new one. Fine, right? No.
Because when the numbness wore off, I discovered that it hurt to chew on that tooth. Not just ached, like it did before the filling, but actual pain. I figured I’d give it a few days and see if it got any better. It hasn’t. Yesterday I had soup for dinner, but made the mistake of having ice cream with chocolate pieces in it. I didn’t even chew on that side of my mouth, but the tooth still ached afterward.
Today was the first day the dentist office has been open since the tooth was filled. I called just after ten, as soon as I was sure they’d be open. To give credit where credit is due, the second I said I was having pain and couldn’t chew on it, the receptionist said I should come in to have it looked at and gave me an appointment later today. She didn’t even pause. I do appreciate that they take such things seriously - I was a little afraid they’d blow me off.
So I’m going in at two to see what’s going on. I’m slightly terrified that I’m going to have to have a root canal or something similarly horrific, or that he’ll just tell me it’s normal and to come back if the pain hasn’t gone away in three months, but I’m trying to be optimistic.
Not fun.
Update: I got back from the dentist a few minutes ago. Apparently, they just needed to do an ajustment (i.e. grind down the filling a little). I was pretty skeptical, but it doesn't hurt to put pressure on my teeth anymore. It seems odd that such a little thing could make that much difference. I haven't tried to eat anything yet; in any case, the dentist told me that there may be a little residual soreness because of bruising, and if it's still hurting in four days or so to come back.
I'm not sure how confident I'm feeling that it's really going to be that easy, but I hope it is. We'll see.