Toothache after drilling

Introduction

After drilling on the tooth, it can happen that the tooth suddenly causes pain afterwards. Usually you will only notice this when the local anesthesia wears off and the feeling comes back. There are several reasons for this phenomenon. The pain is very unpleasant for the patient, but often painkillers that numb the pain for a certain period of time help with toothache. If this condition lasts for several days without improvement, another visit to the dentist should follow to eliminate the cause.

Causes

The most common reason for drilling on the tooth is the removal of a carious area, which is then filled. Depending on the size of the caries, the insertion of a crown may also be necessary. Afterwards, it is possible that the toothache may reappear after the anaesthetic has worn off.

There are numerous reasons for this. Since the drilling irritates the tooth nerve, it is not unlikely that pain will persist for some time after treatment. This is not uncommon, especially if the drilling is very deep and the filling or crown is close to the tooth cavity, called pulp.

In the worst case, the pulp was injured by the drilling and bacteria could penetrate there. The metabolic products of the bacteria then cause pain. One of the most common causes of bite block pain is when the tooth has been restored (repaired) at too high a level compared to the other teeth.

In this case the tooth is heavily loaded or even overloaded when chewing. It begins to hurt. In addition, it can happen that the tooth and filling material do not bond well or that a plastic filling contracts.

In this case a space is created between the tooth and the filling. This causes the filling to “bounce” and triggers a permanent irritation of the nerve. For all these reasons, the first priority should be to eliminate the cause.

The permanent irritation of a tooth triggers an inflammation of the root (pulpitis). This causes further costly treatments. Other possible reasons include incompatibility with the material used or damage to the oral mucosa caused by the instruments used.