An old white composite filling recently fell out of one of my back teeth (2nd from last on bottom of mouth). The filling was a compound filling covering the top of the tooth and going down the backside of the tooth. I never had any tooth sensitivity or pain from this tooth with the initial filling.

Since the filling has been replaced with the same type of composite material, I have had minor sensitivity to hot and cold, but more importantly, I have had some moderate pain whenever I bite down on something firm or crunchy. My dentist told me that when a composite filling hardens, it actually shrinks a little and could be pulling in the sides of the tooth a little. He further stated that when I bite down on something firm, that adds some additional flex to the tooth, which is causing the pain.

I went back to my dentist who then drilled a small trench down the middle of the tooth to release any inward pressure that the filling my have been applying, then refilled the tooth a little bit at a time, which was supposed to keep the composite material from pulling the sides of the tooth inward during this process. Its now several days later and I still experience the same moderate pain from that tooth when eating something firm or crunchy.

I believe that my dentist’s next step will be to totally redo the filling by removing the filling in its entirety and refilling the whole tooth.

Has any experienced this type or problem and how did you have it resolved? Would a silver filling fix this problem? Does anyone know of any other reason why my tooth would be pressure sensitive, other than the explanation I received from my dentist?