The Student Room Group

Dentist - when is it supposed to stop hurting?

A bit of background, don't read the first paragraph if you're not extremely bored:

A few years ago I fell on my face and broke a tooth which crumbled and chipped the tips off a couple of others. And I got a cavity in the tooth directly below the one which broke, despite looking after my teeth very well. After discovering the cavity, I flossed the tooth, which I had previously been unable to do because it caught on something (which in retrospect was probably a bit of broken tooth) and the cavity tooth broke as well. A great big chunk came off, and it was horrible, but it exposed the cavity. I've come to the conclusion that's it's been broken all these years and that is probably why I got the cavity in the first place, especially since it hurt like hell when I bit into something too hard with it.

So anyway, this morning I went to the dentist and he injected the gum (OUCH) to numb it, drilled the cavity and then filled the tooth. Yay.

But it has been hurting really badly all day, and it's not getting better. When is it supposed to stop hurting? A few hours? Days? Weeks?

This is what it looks like now (don't look if you're squeamish or don't want to see my teeth): Here.

That strikes me as being quite gross. And it hurts like a bitch. Is this normal?!

Any help would be appreciated! I'm off to uni on Saturday and really don't want to be dealing with teeth trouble.
It looks pretty normal to me seeing as you had work done; its bound to swell up and bruise a little bit. I'd take a couple of paracetemol and leave them to work their magic. I'm sure it'll be painfree by tomorrow, but if not it might be an idea to ring up your dentist to ask for his advice, afterall, he's probably done hundreds of the same procedures :smile:
Reply 2
Ibuprofen and Paracetomol will go down a treat - don't drink alcohol as it will thin your blood.
Reply 3
OK. Ibuprofen and Paracetomol Check. No alcohol until Saturday. Check.

I was just getting paranoid about it I guess, since this didn't happen when he filled the first one.

Thanks! Much appreciated, I am reassured.
Reply 4
i had 4 teeth out. that was a horrible experience. blah. it hurt like hell afterwards, but yeah - what people have said is about right.. gg!
Reply 5
Ugh. Man. Know how you feel - I did too a while ago. One of the worst experiences of my life. "Bite down on this and it will stop bleeding in a few hours" - whatever mate. Try 10.
Reply 6
I had a tooth out a couple of years ago cos I had an abcess that would not get better so they decided to take it out, it hurt for a week after having it removed and I was on pretty strong painkillers that they gave me!

Who else here hates when they inject anaesthetic into your gum and your lip and tongue go numb as well, and gives you a really heavy lip lol so when you try to smile you can't and it feels like it's droopy and your mouth is open when it isn't :p:
Reply 7
lol yeah! i couldn't talk for ages.. and i kept dribbling everywhere. people kept laughing at me too :frown:

i hate the pain when they inject you. ee.
Reply 8
ah yeah I hate it when the needle pokes the gum eek makes me cringe just thinking of it :puke:

and seriosly why can't dentists put something on their gloves that tastes nice rather than making you feel like throwing up when you put their fingers in your mouth! :p:

dribbling's pretty bad haha I had that with mine, trying to eat a few hours after wasn't much fun either with the soup just slipping out lol
Reply 9
I can take that pain no problem - it's getting me into the room which is the hard part, my body just does not let me go in there.

Hate the place.
Reply 10
Who else here hates when they inject anaesthetic into your gum and your lip and tongue go numb as well, and gives you a really heavy lip lol so when you try to smile you can't and it feels like it's droopy and your mouth is open when it isn't


UGH. YES. Hate it, hate it, hate it. And You not only dribble, you dribble blood like an extra in a zombie film.

And when it wears off it itches like crazy, but hurts at the same time. Awful stuff.

I was shaking and sweating this morning when he injected me, heh. My hands were too shaky to put the UV glasses on.
supertramp
Ugh. Man. Know how you feel - I did too a while ago. One of the worst experiences of my life. "Bite down on this and it will stop bleeding in a few hours" - whatever mate. Try 10.


:ditto: sooo true :hmpf:
aleathiel

Who else here hates when they inject anaesthetic into your gum and your lip and tongue go numb as well, and gives you a really heavy lip lol so when you try to smile you can't and it feels like it's droopy and your mouth is open when it isn't :p:


Try 3 injections at one time, i couldn't talk at all
Reply 13
When having a filling done does anyone else find the drill hits a nerve and it hurts? I had a really crap dentist last year who gave me an awful gold filling even though a white one would have been adequate and when she drilled the tooth it hit a nerve and hurt really badly. I've changed dentist now but I had a filling done last week on a different tooth and even though she gave me anaesthetic it hit a nerve again when she drilled and it hurt. I've had quite a few fillings done and it's only these last two that have been uncomfortable (why I'm the one who always gets fillings I do not know...there are people wandering around without fillings whose dental hygiene is gross and yet I've always brushed and used mouthwash twice a day-unfair!)

Anyway. Because the drill hit a nerve the tooth was mega sensitive for a couple of days. It still is a little bit but it has calmed down an awful lot and I can actually chew on things now. Just give it some time and it should settle down.
Reply 14
Sounds like the dentist has drilled into the pulp cavity or the dentine which will be too deep and that is what is causing the pain as those regions are innervated. The pain following a filling, once the anaesthetic has worn off should subside fairly quickly, if any at all. I would suggest revisiting the dentist pretty soon if the pain remains consistant, especially if it is aggravated by things such as cold/hot food. The filling will either need to be removed and possibly the tooth. The conservative method which can be applied is cutting the nerve for the tooth so you lose sensation, ie. root canal treatment.

Hope that helps.
Reply 15
When having a filling done does anyone else find the drill hits a nerve and it hurts?


I would suggest revisiting the dentist pretty soon if the pain remains consistant, especially if it is aggravated by things such as cold/hot food.


Oh ****. This has happened to me. The first filling I had done (the tooth which I broke and it crumbled) hurt really badly, and now is really really sensitive to hot/cold/sweet/sour/anything that touches it. I told him about it yesterday and he put some bubble-gum flavoured stuff on to help with the sensitivity but it hasn't worked. I've had the filling for about 4 years. ARGH. I don't want more pain!

Oh, and everyone was right. The tooth hurts a lot less today, it's still purple and swollen and kind of scabby (wasn't aware that you could get scabs in your mouth but whatever), but it doesn't hurt as much. I was obviously just being paranoid.
Rinse your mouth with warm salt water.