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FAQ: Sensitive Teeth

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Sensitive Teeth Ask The Dentist Corinne Scalzitti

Question:
Filling causes sensitivity and pain: I had a composite filling done recently (to replace an old amalgam that had moderate decay).

Afterward, my molar was very sensitive to pressure (not heat or cold) and my dentist reshaped the composite as he guessed it was "high."

A few days later it is still sensitive to chewing pressure, and now to touch. I experience that small zing or shock when I brush the tooth and when I scrape or poke at it with my fingernail.

Does it just need more time to heal, more reshaping, or is something else wrong? ...Visitor from NY

Answer:
There is a good possibility that the tooth is still high.

When a filling is too high, the muscles of the jaw become spastic and the temporomandibular joing (TMJ) cannot fully seat when your mouth closes. Also, the ligament that holds the root of the tooth in the bone can also swell and make the tooth even higher.

So, after an adjustment the joint may try to seat more and the tooth is high again, along with a swollen ligament. So, several more adjustments may be necessary.

The other possibility is that the nerve is infected and you could end up needing a root canal. I would fully pursue the adjusting and see if that helps.

Corinne Scalzitti, DMD, MAGD
Austin Reconstructive Implant Dentistry
3900 RR 620 South
Austin, Texas TX 78738
(512) 263-3330

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