Hi everyone, I’m hoping to get some guidance because this has been really frustrating and honestly painful.
I’m a 35F with a pretty much flawless dental history. I’ve always had strong teeth, healthy gums, and super routine cleanings with zero issues. I’ve only ever had one cavity in my life (over 10 years ago), until this past March when my dentist found a very small, shallow cavity that wasn’t there 6 months prior.
He reassured me it was minor, nowhere near the nerve, and an easy filling.
I got the filling done, and everything seemed fine at first. But once the numbing wore off the next day, I noticed sensitivity to hot and cold, which is unusual for me because I’ve never had sensitive teeth before. I gave it about 10 days thinking it was normal post-filling sensitivity, but it didn’t go away.
I went back. X-rays looked fine, dentist said the filling looked great and not close to the nerve. He thought my bite might be off and adjusted it.
Two weeks later, still no improvement (maybe slightly worse). Went back again, same thing, adjusted bite again and said if it continues, he’d redo the filling.
Another couple weeks pass and now the discomfort had increased significantly (went from like a 1/10 to about a 6/10). So we redid the filling. This time he added a desensitizer underneath and again said everything looked good.
Now here’s where it gets bad
About 72 hours after the redo (once the numbness fully wore off), I developed severe, constant pain:
Throbbing pain even at rest
Pain with ANY temperature (even room temp)
Pain to even the lightest touch or tapping
Air hitting the tooth hurts
Changing head position can trigger it
Worse at night and wakes me up in the morning
Pain lingers for hours after any stimulation
At this point, it’s honestly unbearable and nothing helps. Not ibuprofen, not Tylenol, nothing.
Before the redo, it was uncomfortable but manageable. Now it’s constant and intense.
My questions:
Does this sound like irreversible pulpitis / needing a root canal?
Is this a normal complication from a shallow filling, or a red flag?
Should I go back to the same dentist or get a second opinion ASAP?
I’m just confused how a “small, shallow cavity” turned into this level of pain.
Any insight would really help. Thanks