Tooth Sensitivity after Dental Work

Dental technology has made modern day dental care more comfortable than when I was growing up. However, most procedures still fall under the category of same-day surgery. That’s right! When we drill on your tooth, or do some form of tissue surgery, it is surgery. Which means you should normally experience some discomfort after most dental procedures.
It’s not unusual for a patient to experience bite, hot, and cold sensitivity after tooth colored fillings for up to eight weeks, and sometimes longer. Every tooth will vary with sensitivity. Meaning, you can have five fillings done on the same day and each tooth will respond differently. You may have sensitivity in one, two, or all five teeth, or none at all.
The same applies with all dental procedures. Every tooth is its own organ, and will behave differently. Some teeth will heal faster than others. Some decay goes deeper in the tooth, and requires more time to heal.
If you experience tooth discomfort that gets progressively worse, then the tooth will probably be in need of additional treatment such as root canal therapy or possibly extraction if the tooth has an unseen fracture. Bottom line, it’s the human body, and sometimes things that need to be fixed can go in reverse. However, the large majority of all dental procedures fixes unwanted problems and does so with little or no discomfort.
Sensitivity to bite usually means a minor bite adjustment. Sensitivity to cold generally goes away with time, but is helped with products such as desensitizing toothpastes. But remember, if sensitivity becomes worse over time, or is consistent for over two months, you should probably be seen in our office.