Sensitivity after a Crown placement

              There are two types of sensitivity that can commonly experienced after a crown is cemented. One is sensitivity to biting pressure and the other is sensitivity to cold (and or hot) liquids. If a patient is  experiencing either of these after a permanent crown is placed, then probably the best thing to do is to let their dentist know.

                  Sensitivity after a permanent crown is placed is not that uncommon. If a patient reports sensitivity, I check their bite, since a high bite can be irritating to the ligaments holding a tooth and can even cause pulpal sensitivity. A patient should be able to close there mouth comfortably without feeling any pain. If when they close their mouth (without chewing any food) they experience pain from a new crown, the bite should be adjusted.

              If a patient can comfortably close their mouths, but does experience pain on heavy chewing, I usually ask them to wait and see if the pain gets better with time. A crown cementation can sometimes irritate the pulp and with time this irritation can diminish. This can take months to go away and if a patient is willing, its usually best to wait. If I see them at their next recall, the tooth is still sensitive to chewing or when drinking cold liquids, I take a radiograph and if no pathology is evident, I usually try to get the patient to wait longer, since the only real other options are to perform a root canal on the tooth or to cut off the crown and place a temporary crown with a sedative filling. Which of these I would choose, if I feel the need to treat the tooth, is dependent on whether I believe the pulp has a reversible or irreversible pulpitis.

              Deciding whether a pulpitis is reversible is not always easy, but the prior history of the tooth has a lot to do with the decision. If a tooth was assymptomatic prior to me working on it initially, I am more likely to choose to remove a crown and place a temporary. If a tooth had a pre-existing crack in it or was symptomatic prior to me preparing it for a crown, I am more likely to recommend the patient visiting an endodontist and have a root canal done through the crown.

               I feel that the pulp is still vital and not infected, there is usually no harm in watchful waiting, since with enough time sensitive crowned teeth can calm down. I explain this to my patient and if the symptoms are bearable we often wait for the symptoms to slowly go away. If the symptoms are worsening instead, we can always choose the root canal option.

Why Dental Diagnosis are sometimes In-Exact.

              Even after after taking x-rays and performing a thorough clinical examination of a patient in pain, it is not always possible to make a definitive diagnosis in just one visit. Sometimes there are multiple possible causes for a patients discomfort. Often a patient having pain originating from one quadrant has multiple restorations and more than one can be  experiencing pain.

             Just last week a patient came in after a trip to Chennai complaining of pain. She hadn't slept all night. My clinical examination showed that the pain was coming mostly the area around lower back tooth , which had previously had a root canal, post and crown. The mesial papilla of the tooth  was swollen and painful. It had a pocket of 5-7 mm, and No drainage.  Clearly her pain could be due to a failing root canal or a fracture of one of her roots or also because of side teeth fillings. The x-rays taken were non conclusive.
                     To make the diagnosis more complicated the Patient had a bad cold and throat infection and fever. So the pain could have been worsened by Sinusitis or general malaise of the patient, which would definitely get better within 2-3 days with medication.

             I placed the patient on Antibiotics and it was decided that the best course of treatment was to do nothing more for the present but to speak with her in the following week to see if she was experiencing any improvement. If there was no improvement he could then check her again to see whether there was an actual tooth problem that required treatment.

                  Although patients in pain often want immediate relief, sometimes the best way to handle  a problem is to do nothing. This is especially true when the dentist is not sure what is causing the problem and there is a possibility that the symptoms will go away if the patient is given enough time. If the problem persists for more than a week or two , the patient should come back to the dentist in order to have him better diagnose the cause of the symptoms and often the source of the problem may become more apparent if given additional time.

What Should you do if your Filling Falls off...

If your filling falls off it is generally the time to call and schedule a dental visit. If your tooth is not hurting, it usually not so important to call your dentist, but you would be wise to seek an appointment within a week. Absence of pain is not a reason to delay seeing a dentist, since patients who report that a filling has fallen out can often have decay present or may have a piece of the tooth broken as well.

Once you visit your dentist, he will most likely need to take a dental radiograph or two so that he can diagnose the extent of the problem. If there is no decay present your tooth may just require a new filling. If decay is present, the dentist will need to clean it out prior to refilling the tooth. Bear in mind that in the event that the decay  has compromised the pulp, your tooth may require a root canal procedure and teeth with extensive missing tooth structure may be candidates for a crown instead of a filling.