how long do composite fillings last?

[thixle]

So, I had a cavity filled last month. First filling ever in my adult teeth, so I have no clue about this stuff. I did get the white composite but I'm regretting the filling period. My tooth did not hurt at all before the filling, but medicaid was running out and I do trust that if the dentist said it was bad enough... I digress.

For the past two weeks, the tooth has been "sensitive." For the past two days almost unbearable. Even room temperature food and drink makes it zing. Ouch. ouch. ouch. The dentist did say the white filling wouldn't last as long, but a month? I am going to make an appt. but I have no dental coverage at all, so this will all be out-of-pocket. Should they even charge me for anything? I mean, I guess I'm okay paying for an office visit, but shouldn't they pay for any further work... Like is there any kind of warranty on dental work?

[FluffiB]

If your tooth was hurting then the cavity made it to the root, which is a bad thing.

Sensitivity could go away in a month. I did have a really sensitive tooth after a composite filling but only to bite, and no matter how many times the bite was adjusted it was still sensitive. The dentist wound up redoing the filling twice. There could've been an air pocket in there.

They do use acid to etch the tooth to adhere the composite, so it could be sensitive due to that. Or that the composite takes a longer to adjust to different temperatures, so your nerves might not be liking that either.

The filling that I mentioned only lasted 4 years. I think my dentist used a different bonding material. But I have plenty of other composits that are probably more than a decade old. They're getting better these days. And they're not proned to leakage since they bond to your teeth.

If your tooth starts to get sensitive to hot that's a really bad thing especially if the pain lingers. It could be an abscess due to a dead nerve. So as long as it's not sensitive to hot it may go away on its own. If the dentist recommends redoing the filling, then by all means go for it, but they have to drill more of your real tooth, so depending on how deep the filling is it could escalate to something worse.

[thixle]

Originally Posted by FluffiB

If your tooth was hurting then the cavity made it to the root, which is a bad thing.
...
If your tooth starts to get sensitive to hot that's a really bad thing especially if the pain lingers. It could be an abscess due to a dead nerve. So as long as it's not sensitive to hot it may go away on its own.

Great. The tooth didn't hurt before the filling, so does that mean he drilled to the nerves?

And yes, very sensitive to hot. I have to wait for my morning coffee to be lukewarm (yuck)...

I knew this filling was a bad idea. Too late now.

[FluffiB]

I'm dealing with the same thing right now w/ at least one tooth. Someone said putting a garlic clove on the tooth for a day got rid of the abscess. I have to warn you, it burns if you get the juice on your tongue or cheek! I also tried a bit of grapefruit seed extract, and it seemed to have helped. Just make sure not to get that stuff on your tongue. I've been adding a drop to my mouthwash morning and night.

[FluffiB]

Oh, the tooth may have cracked if the filling covers a large surface area.

[Lovenest]

I would go back and have it checked out.

[oneKnight]

Both my dad and my DH have had some really shoddy work done by Medicaid dentists. I would never ever on my life have work done that way.

Personally I would have a non-Medicaid dentist look at it, but at least get someone to check it out.

[thixle]

I love my dentist He checked the filling with some dye, looks like it is in there right. He touched my gumline and OUCH. So, it looks like slightly receeding gums, not the filling. He told me to try Sensodyne and wear a mouthguard to bed (I'm a grinder) and if that didn't help to come in and he'd re-do the filling free of charge. He called it his "caveman" theory- when you have something "off" in your body, you keep picking at it or "worrying" with it and I'm probably grinding more on that tooth (the bite looked great, he said). And when i brush, I'm probably brushing around that tooth more, exposing more of the root (like brushing the sides more to compensate for not brushing the filling part, thinking that was what was hurting). Made perfect sense the way he said it.

He's a Medicaid dentist, but extremely conservative and he knows what he's talking about. He said my teeth were too pretty to be drilling on without trying the easy stuff first.