Did the dentist discover a cavity during your six-monthly check-up? Then the dentist will drill and fill your cavity! Does cavity filling hurt? And what can I expect? Read on below.
You may experience having a cavity in your tooth as annoying. It is very important to get your cavity treated as soon as possible. If you leave the cavity in your tooth untreated, it can eventually lead to annoying dental problems. For example a root canal treatment. Therefore, have your cavity filled by your dentist as soon as possible.
Does getting a cavity filled hurt?
Whether filling a cavity can hurt depends on the depth of the filling and the sensitivity of your teeth. In addition, the pain threshold differs per person. To make sure that you don’t have pain when filling a cavity, ask for an anesthetic. Because of the anesthetic you will not feel anything while drilling.
Anesthetic when drilling
If your dentist suspects your treatment may be painful, he or she will suggest an anesthetic. You can choose whether or not you want to be sedated before your treatment. If you opt for an anesthetic, you will receive a small injection. Due to the anesthetic effect of this injection, you will not feel any pain afterwards. Do you still feel some pain? Then you must indicate this immediately. In this case, the dentist will put another injection, so that you really no longer feel pain. After this, the treatment starts.
Your cheek and / or lip will feel a bit thick due to the anesthetic. This can make talking, eating and / or drinking seem more difficult. This feeling will disappear automatically, namely when the anesthetic has worn off. This takes one to several hours after the treatment.
Do you not want an anesthetic, for example because you do not want the injection of the anesthetic? Then this is certainly possible. The dentist can also use an ointment to numb the area to be treated, although an ointment is less effective than an anesthetic. Do you still want an anesthetic during the treatment? Then you can simply indicate this. In this case, the dentist will still put an injection, so that you no longer feel pain during the drilling and any further treatment.
Appointment for your cavity
It takes about 20 minutes to fill a cavity. Additional time is added for multiple cavities. Some people have lots of cavities on different sides of their teeth. The dentist only treats one side at a time. This is because otherwise there will be anesthesia on both sides. This is dangerous because you do not notice at all if you are biting your cheek or drinking something too hot. If only one side is sedated, you can eat on that side and you will notice much faster whether the food or drink, for example, is too hot. There may also be after pain after the treatment. Eating and talking is very uncomfortable when this pain occurs on both sides.
I still have pain in my tooth after filling
Wait a few days, the pain may go away on its own. If the pain persists or gets worse, make an appointment with the dentist.
There are different types of fillings. Different surfaces that can be filled. A filling can therefore be large or small. The bigger the filling, the more chance you have that it will bother you. If a cavity is very close to the nerve, you may be in pain after the treatment. Then take a painkiller.
If the pain gets worse and starts to throb, contact the dentist. If the tooth or molar is filled with a white filling, this can be sensitive to hot and cold for a while. The pain will go away on its own after a while (if the pain continues or gets worse, contact the dentist).
Image by: authoritydental.org