The constant dull pain and lack of ability to chew anything other than soft foods is VERY depressing. It's been almost a month for me, although the tooth pain didn't start until a week or two later. I wish someone had an answer. I don't want to have it redone if it's not going to help. I don't want anymore lingering pains.

Have you been back to your dentist? If not, you might want to give him/her a chance to help you out. Perhaps a bite adjustment will help you given that you have pain when chewing. Also, are you a grinder or a clencher? If so, that also may be a factor. I'll re-post again after I speak with my dentist and let you know what he says. Initially, he told me he thought I had "reversible pulpitis". Btw, I've had several other old fillings replaced with composite material and never had an experience like this and many of the other older fillings were larger/deeper. Go figure.

yes, I went back last Monday. they said they were very sorry to hear I was in pain. They took an x-ray and did a quick exam. Found nothing wrong. They said they'd heard of pain after a filling lasting about a month. They suggested the only remedy would be re-doing the filling and that might NOT help the problem, so just wait and see....

I went in for a cracked tooth a year ago to get a crown. Instead he put on two crowns, preventative he said. Now hot/cold/pressure hurts. I haven't had my teeth cleaned since because between the gum and crown is agony if touched. Last month the tooth started hurting and thought I would die over the weekend. By Monday pain had subsided and now back to dull constant pain. But I REALLY don't want to go back to him as long as it is liveable. I find I grind my teeth now also, which I never did before. Since the root pain was soooo extreme last month and now a strong mute feeling---I wonder if the root died and like the death of a star, went out with a bang?????

I am so glad I stumbled across this forum. I thought I was the only one that had this kind of issue. I have always gone to the dentist regularly and I'm in my mid-20's and have never had a cavity in my life. I moved so I went to a new dentist and he said I had 6 cavities! He said they were small but wanted me to go ahead and get them filled. Big mistake. Of course they told me to get the white fillings (which evidently have presented a lot of problems for most of you). Now anytime I chew, my tooth on the left sends a shooting pain all the way to my finger tips! It's been over a month. I've been back to the dentist twice. The first time he adjusted the filling and put desensitizer on it. That didn't help. I went back yesterday and he removed the filling, put some insulation in the tooth and put the filling back in and added 2 layers of desensitizer and it didn't change the pain at all! It still kills me every time I chew. I don't know what to do from here...? He only filled 4 teeth on my left side and I had an appt to get the remaining 2 teeth on my right side filled, but I told him not to. I have never had any pain or sensitivity in my teeth my whole life and suddenly he puts fillings in and I'm in constant pain. I wish he had just left them alone!!!

I called in sick to work yesterday, the pain during the night was quite bad, worse than before. I walked into the dentist office first thing in the a.m. They looked again, didn't see anything. Took another X-Ray. Thought the whole thing was quite unusual. They did a cold sensitivity test which didn't bother the affected tooth. The DDS thought my tooth might be cracked and sent me to an endodontist, who thankfully took me right away. Endodontist looked at my now swollen jaw and did the same sensitivity test and determined my nerve was dead, root canal needed. He drew a picture for me. Why all of a sudden I need a root canal when my filling was supposedly very shallow? He said he didn't know. I shall find out tomorrow if the root canal solves the problem once and for all. I certainly hope I don't have root canal/crown issues! I'm sick of taking medicine and eating soft foods.

I just spoke someone at the dental office where I used to work, soemone knowlegeable, whom I trust. She said the white fillings (composite fillings ) make teeth sensitive because they have to put acid on the tooth surface before applying the composite material, so it can bond, The acid often causes sensitivity, and the bigger the filling the more sensitive it becomes. She said it's common for teeth to be sensitive for a couple of weeks. (I so wish that MY dentist had shared this info with me.) Of course the poor people writing in to this site are experiencing much longer, more painful situations than that. I am still having sensitivity, & pain, but it is diminishing. Or maybe I'm just learning to chew really carefully. I've concluded that, while plenty of people are having bad problems with the composite fillings, compared to the number of them that are being placed in people's mouths, it's a small percentage. Still the dentists owe it to us to inform us of the possibility that we may encounter PAIN if we choose the white stuff!! I suspect that my own present dentist is good & well-meaning but somewhat inexperienced.

I am so glad I am not the only one havng these problems!!!

I had 5 fillings done on the right side of my mouth almost 2 months ago!!!
One on the bottom, the worst cavity, still hurts at any given time, the ones on the top are very sensitive...

I have to take aleve for it atleast every other day and Im sick of it!

I have called the dentist about 4 times complaining about this issue but haven't been back in the office so he can take a look at my mouth.
Ive been doing some reading online about all of the reasons why they might hurt..
I feel a little bit better that I am not alone!!
I am going to make an appt with my dentist on monday..wish me luck!!!!

Continuing my painful saga...

After visiting the dentist for the 2nd time bcuz my pain was NOT getting better, they referred me to an endodontist who determined I needed a root canal. I tried to get an explanation, like if my filling was so shallow and there was little or no decay under the old filling, and nothing shows up on the x-ray, why do I need a root canal? It just happens sometimes, it was explained to me. The extreme pain I was suffering in my ear and jaw was related to the root dying and infection.

Two days after my root canal, and I'm feeling much better. Just some residual soreness, but I can almost eat on that side of my mouth now! I'm down to 2 advils every 8 hrs instead of 3 every 6 hours.

The only thing that is left to be done now is a crown. OUCH in the pocketbook!

I would be very interested to hear if the root canal has fixed problem ouchytooth. I think I may end up going in that direction too.. I too have read the posts about pain following white fillings and identifying with so many of you.
I had an amalgam filling replaced(6 weeks ago back molar quite deep and painfull when drilled) as their was decay underneath. I chose white after seeing a program on TV damning amalgam fillings. I now regret this decision. i experience pain on chewing at odd times, impossible to eat normally on molar, hot and cold sensitivity. dentist said sensitivity due to receding gums and put varnish on exposed area. It helps but does not explain pain when chewing food. He said might need crown if it does not improve, but said may need root canal too. I wonder if replacing filling with amalgam might be worth a try first? I wonder if some people are allergic to the resin..? I have a small filling which aches sometimes too, also composite. (done 5 weeks ago). I have lost faith in my dentist which is a shame as I moved to the new dentist from a cheap NHS dentist. (she ignored me when I said I had pain turns out I had large cavity) saying all the pain was from tartar build up causing sensitivity!!
All this work on teeth is so expensive, starting to regret not staying with NHS..

oh my goodness . . . I was surprised to hear that you had to have a root canal, but certainly hope that this helps alleviate the pain for you. I did go back to my dentist and he thinks that my "clenching" is causing some of the dull aches and he did file the tooth down again. At least most of the sensitivity seems to have diminished. We'll see how it goes and will post again with updates.

i got a porcelain onlay on molar 3...it hurt to clench at first and i got it filed down and it felt good for a couple days ...now i just get this lame dull ache that comes and goes as it pleases...i went to the dentist and she didn't know what was wrong with it lol so she gave me amoxicillian thinking it could be an infection. she says if it doesn't go away i should go to endodomist and get it checked out...it feels like its the gum that hurts, not the tooth. It also hurt my wallet as the procedure cost 2k and its not even fixed LOL

I too have experienced sensitivity and annoying pain on both teeth that had filling. I went back and had the bite rechecked and refiled down. She explained that a bite that is off can cause sensitivity. The right filling is now fine but the left is sensitive to certain acidic foods. I previously had mercury fillings which have been fine for almost 30 years. NOw these new ones are giving me a little bit of occasional yet bothersome grief.

I had 6 silver fillings replaced on my left side and 7 on my right. It was a horrible month but then i thought it'll be worth it, right? Wrong! It's been almost 4 months and my left side feels like it's splitting apart. The only way I can describe the pain is when you jam your elbow and that deep pain lasts for a second. Well, this deep pain just goes on and on. Breathing is painful. My dentist is sending me to specialist before he attempts to do anything. Probably scared, I'm going to sue. I'm almost 40 and I've never had any problems with my teeth other than the cavities from my childhood. God, I miss my silver fillings. I'm taking some painkillers (not vicodin since I'm trying to get pregnant again) but i refuse to accept that this kind of pain will be part of my life.

The story you tell is oh so familiar, So many of us here reporting pain following composite fillings. You are going to see a specialist so hopefully they can shed some light on your problem. It is so awful to have pain in your mouth, it affects your whole life, and I am not sure how many people really understand what it is like, I know people i talk to about it think I'm going on about it and that i need to get a grip, they can't imagine until it happens to them. I have been back to my dentist several times to discuss the pain I have when eating in the new composite fillings, he is far from understanding and keeps fobbing me off with 'answers'.. I have learnt to eat very carefully on the tooth, and mostly I chew all my food on the other side, I just don't want to go back to dentist again for a while..(money, anxiety and time being main reasons). I hope you get some answers from the specialist and you get your wish for a child soon! Good luck. There are some good books out there about dental treatment and the pros and cons, worth getting as much info as possible before you go ahead with treatment especially with you trying to get pregnant.. This forum is great, there is so much experience and information here to dip into.
You are not a fool, you just did what you thought was best, and trusted your dentists advice, we have all done that.. I watched a tv show and chose composite fillings as a result, I didn't know they can cause all these problems.. I would tell all my friends to leave their silver fillings where they are unless they are causing problems, "if it aint broke don't fix it!"

We really have to remind ourselves that when we are walking into a dental office we are really walking into a business, the dentist is not really a dentist, he/she is a salesman first and a dentist second. I am really upset at my last dentist. He basically was only looking to fatten his wallet rather than look out for the best interest of my dental health. He persuaded me to replace my amalgam fillings with composite fillings because the silver amalgam fillings are "full of mercury". I found out later, from another dentist, that he charged me way too much. He replaced four of my old fillings with composite white fillings, one of which he took a long time on and it later gave me a bad headache. Then there was really bad tooth pain and it persisted days, then weeks, then months. When I asked about the problem with my tooth the only response I got from him was and I quote "Teeth are weird.", well thanks a lot pal. He then redid the filling, this time he put the complete base material inside but it only made it worse. 1 year has gone by and the pain has got worse and worse. I guess that means that my root is dying and I'm going to need a root canal now all because of this jerk dentist who sold me on this just to make more money. If I were you I would never even think about doing any kind of amalgam to composite refilling because teeth are very sensitive and will die if you keep on aggravating them with constant drilling. If you have the amalgam fillings still in I would wait until they start to get loose and then you could refill them. To add to my misery I got laid off with no insurance, no money, and a bum tooth, thanks a lot jerk. I've been to a half dozen dentists now and they all are greedy, self centered, incompetent, salesman. All I ever hear from them is how expensive the chairs are and how costly the software programs are. Isn't there one out there who cares about a persons potential suffering rather than money? I'm not one for universal health care but these dentists really make a case for it by being so hungry for money. Everyone should remember the phrase "Need before Greed" the next time you have a dentist work on your teeth. Do you really need this procedure? or is the dentist being greedy?

It's been around 10 weeks now since I had an old amalgam filling in #14 replaced with a composite filling b/c the old filling had deteriorated. The sensitivity to hot/cold is 90% gone and the dull aches pretty much are, too. Both times that I visited the dentist to explain the side effects of having the filling replaced, he indicated that he thought I had "reversible pulpitis" (as opposed to "irreversible pulpitis"). I now wear a bite guard at night to help with the clenching. Wanted to provide an update.

Too bad dentists don't get on this site. I had this problem after getting composite fillings 2 years ago. Four out of four molars hurt after composite fillings.
Here's my 2 year update, and my conclusion:
Tooth 1) Dentist decided to redo it because of the "buble theory". Drilling out the filling took up all the remaining enamel and I ended up with a root canal. Root canals are great, they fix everything. But I doubt they are really needed.
Tooth 2) Dentist did some reshaping. No real benefit. Gradually pain went away in about 3 months.
Tooth 3) Did nothing. Gradually pain went away in about 5 months.
Tooth 4) I got tooth reshaped again and again and again... eventually I just had the dentist adjust it as part of my 6-month checkup. Pain finally went away after two years.
Now I'm back on this site because my dentist redid tooth 3 due to alarm from the density sensor tool (suggests decay). Now I have the pain again after 3 weeks.
Conclusion: I'm actully in shock that this issue is so pervasive yet dentists are not doing anything to understand what is going on. They sluff off easy answers like bubles or high spots or grinding in sleep, and many other BS stories. I suspect its due to the composite resin causing stress when it cures. It is well known that resins shrink when they cure. I bet this cause stress in the tooth that irritates the nerve. This stress eventually relaxes out. I think the solution might be to remove excess filling (not the high spots, but any thick areas). Anyway, just a wild theory that will never be read by any dentists.

I had teeth problems as well lately. In fact one of my teeth got so infected that I had to be rushed to the hospital and had to stay for 2 days. My face swelled 2-3 its normal size on the side of where the tooth infection was. Because of the severity of the infection, I also developed cellulitis under my tongue and my chin. I had to have a root canal on that tooth and I broke another tooth around the same time and the dentist said I might need a root canal for that one too. The cavity was very deep and a whole chunk of tooth is missing. Both of the teeth that I was talking about hurts like hell. When I first got the infected tooth and my face swelled that much, I have never been in so much pain before. I haven't been eating real food because one of the bad teeth is on one side of my mouth and the other is on the other side of my mouth so I have been chewing with my front teeth. Now that is difficult when trying to eat real food! I also grind my teeth a lot, mainly during the daytime. I think its because of stress (also excitement because I am going on a trip next week!) I also easily get cavities because I pretty much destroyed my teeth in 7th grade (that was a long time ago and was due to all the bullying that was going on) but for some reason, many years later (I'm 26) I'm grinding again. My dentist said after he fixes my million cavities, I will have to have a bite guard.

Ouwie,

I think that some people are react to the chemicals in the resin and also to the acid that they put on the tooth to enable the resin to stick. The acid I understand can upset the nerve if the cavity is deep which can last for a long time. My composite filling still aches 7 weeks later and is painful if I am not super careful when chewing. It is encouraging to read your post and to hear eventually your teeth are better for the most part, but sad that it has taken so long for that to happen. i am sure others will be glad to read about your experience and what worked and what did'nt.