Toothache after a filling

Pain after a filling is not rare. On the one hand, an injection is given before the filling therapy, so that one does not feel any pain. As soon as the anesthesia wears off, pain may reappear.

This is due to the fact that a large part of destroyed tooth structure is removed, which actually serves as a protection. Depending on how deep the filling goes and how far it reaches the nerve, the dental pulp is irritated. Another reason is that the tooth is additionally irritated during the treatment by the drilling and grinding and by the cold water.

The most common reason is a filling that is too high, or a filling that has been placed too close to the neighboring tooth. When chewing, the first contact is made with the filling. The entire chewing force is thus transferred to a single tooth and its bands.

Toothache only when eating hard food

There can be several reasons why one or more teeth hurt, especially when chewing hard food. When speaking in front of hard food, it is still “softer” than the tooth structure itself, otherwise the tooth would break. However, if the tooth is weakened by caries, it gives way under the pressure.

Caries makes the tooth porous and hollow. If something hard presses on the occlusal surface, this pressure is transferred to the nerves via the softened enamel and the even softer dentin. The cause of the pain may also be the periodontium.

When chewing, the tooth is pressed into its tooth socket. With hard food, which does not simply give way, the stronger. The fibers from which the teeth are suspended are stretched.

In case of inflammation of the gums and the rest of the periodontium, the latter reacts to the heavy load with pain. The pain can also occur in the temporomandibular joint. If the food is so hard that it cannot simply be bitten, the temporomandibular joints are unevenly loaded.

If you chew on one side only, the opposite joint is lifted off its hinges. The pain is caused by the bones of the joint head and socket rubbing against each other. The pain moves from the temporomandibular joint and radiates into individual teeth. Often the pain cannot be localized clearly.