I had a gold crown placed on a top rear molar about one year ago. However, I still have some mild pain (it averages a "1 or 2" on a scale from "0 to 10"). There is no throbbing pain, though. The tooth is sensitive to cold, but not hot. I'm not sure what I should do next?

A more detailed history of my tooth follows. For the past 10 years, I had occasional mild pain that would last a few days, then go away for weeks. At the time, my dentist told me that I shouldn't do anything about it because I might make it worse. Unfortunately, he retired 2 years ago and I found a new dentist.

My new dentist said he saw a "pre cavity" in the tooth. He filled it. However, the process left me in great pain. This extreme pain faded to a tolerable level after two months. It still hurth, though. So, when I saw my dentist about a year ago I told him it still hurt. He did more X-rays and tested the tooth with a "bite stick." The X-rays were clear, but the tooth hurt a lot when I bit on the stick. He said there must be a crack and recommended a crown.

Unfortunately, ever since getting the crown, I have had pain just about every day. The pain is worse than before the crown. I wake up feeling sore, and sometimes having a headache. My dentist said I must be clenching my teeth. I now sleep with a mouthguard. It's a soft guard. It wasn't helping relieve pain until I cut off the part of the guard that covers the rear molar. In doing so, the guard doesn't press against the crown when I clench. This relieves the pressure from the tooth at night.

Wearing this modified mouth guard keeps the pain at a manageable level. I wake up with less pain. However, it still hurts somewhat. Moreover, it hurts to chew food on that side of my mouth (but it does not hurt to bite down when my mouth is empty. My dentist has adjusted the "bite" to ensure that the crown is not too high.)

The tooth also starts to ache late in the day. Sometimes, it seems to ache a few hours after I drink soda.

I take an ibuprophen once or twice a day to take the edge off the pain. However, I don't like taking pills constantly. My dentist thinks a root canal may be the next step. An endodontist told me she wasn't sure I needed a root canal (she seemed puzzled when I told her the pain didn't "throb" and the tooth was not sensitive to heat)

I'm afraid of doing something that might make the tooth even worse, but the pain is getting to me.