[rbquestion]

A few months ago I had a sensation in the upper left side in the mouth towards the back. There was some pain when I ate hot and cold. I went to the dentist. The dentist found nothing wrong with my teeth. He told me there may be an exposed nerve. He put some kind of solution to dull the sensation. I was told I should brush with sensidyne toothpaste.

I did that and it help but always had some sensation there. Lately is has been getting harder to eat in that area of the mouth. But the discomfort was in such that it was tolerable (or could live with).

This week the pain got worse. It was no longer sensitive to hot and cold but tuned into a continuous achiness type of pain. The pain spread into my head where I had a headache from the pain. After taking Tylenol, the headache was gone but the pain was still in my mouth.

The next day I localized the pain to one tooth. I went to the dentist. He took X-RAY checked it out and still could not find evidence of decay, crack, or other physical evidence pointing in a need of dental work. He did say the tooth that I thought was the source of the pain had filling. He asked me what kind of pain. Like does it feel like an electric shock when eating on it? I said it was not that kind of pain (not a sharp pain) but an aching type of pain. He said being that it is not a sharp sudden pain makes him believe that it is not a cracked filling.

He continued his examination and checked out my bite. He thinks I could be from grinding my teeth that may cause the discomfort. He shaved a bit some of the teeth in back to see if that would help. If not he would consider a mouth piece for sleeping.
Since the dentist visit two days ago there is no evidence of improvement. The pain is continuous and worse when I eat (even if I avoid that part of the mouth). I take Adville (at the suggesting of the dentist) and it does get rid of the pain for about 6 hours.

I am not convinced that the problem is grinding teeth. I don't know what to do next. The pain is not being resolved.

Should I wait a week or so to see if there is any improvement by the dentist shaving some of the back teeth for the bite? Should I insist to the dentist to remove the filling and replace it? Should I look for another dentist? Or is it possible that it is not a dental problem and I should call my medical doctor?

[Jilldental]

It almost sounds like the tooth has a leaky filling, especially if it is silver you may want to have them change it to a composite or white filling. One of the nerve canals could also be dying and may not be evident in the x-ray yet. You might want to ask him to put you in an antibiotic to see if it helps with the pain. If the nerve is dying a root canal would be the next step. Good luck!

[tickle]

Should I wait a week or so to see if there is any improvement by the dentist shaving some of the back teeth for the bite? Should I insist to the dentist to remove the filling and replace it? Should I look for another dentist? Or is it possible that it is not a dental problem and I should call my medical doctor?

You wouldn't have to wait a week to see improvement, it would be immediate if he adjusted the tooth. From your description it wouldn't be a medical problem. Your doctor would only refer you to an oral surgeon.

No, I would get a second opinion. All dentists have a different approach to a particular problem, another dentist may see a solution where the other didn't.

Tick

[flossie]

I'd suggest you try a night guard to protect your teeth while you sleep. I will bet the pain will subside. I wouldn't go drilling on the tooth as it could eventually lead to the need for a root canal.