How bad is it when you can actually see a cavity in a tooth? It's quite big, but it doesn't hurt, which I thought was strange......I would have expected to be in pain with it if it was bad.
208670
The reason you are not in pain yet is because the decay has not reached the nerve of the tooth. Once it does you will not hesitate to go to the dentist. However, once this happens, and the nerve has been exposed, you will need a root canal and a crown put on top of that. This gets very expensive. Do yourself a favor and see your dentist to get this cavity stopped before it becomes a big painful expensive problem!
651785
I am terrified of the dentist... I'm 42!!! I have finally found a way I can get things done.. I get intravenis (sp?) sleep dentistry done...  they stick an IV in my arm.. and, although I'm awake.. I'm only semi-aware that something is being done.. I remember almost nothing of the work... 3-4 hours at a time.. I feel no pain... and even when I wake up and afterward.. the pain is bearable.. it's soooooooo much easier....  it's a little more expensive having to pay for the IV but it's worth it if you have a fear of the dentist... I highly recommend it...  check with local dentists.. not everybody does it.
293193
Hi sweetie, well first of all I'm glad your mum took you to the dentist today and well done for getting a big filling done - I bet it wasn't as bad as you expected, was it? It's quite common for your teeth to hurt a bit after they've had fillings put in them, especially if the filling is big like yours. It can take up to a week for the pain to go completely, but the important thing is - the pain should get better, not worse. If it gets worse, you need to go back to the dentist. When I had a really big filling done recently it hurt for about a week, I found that rinsing my mouth regularly with warm salty water helped. I hope it feels better soon, and at least now you know the hole in your tooth is sorted. Now just take good care of your teeth and hopefully it won't happen again!
393332
The only time I've seen anyone in pain during or due to a root canal is when they come in with the tooth badly abscessed.  This is because an abscess creates too much of an acidic environment which MAY make it tough to anesthesitize (sp?).  Because of this it you start to feel discomfort let the dentist know and he'll give you more "juice".  All root canals are are bigger fillings.  If the filling doesn't hurt neither will the rct.  Below is an a link to everything you want to know about root canal treatment and more from simplestepdental.com (my favorite site as anyone following my answers will have realized).  http://www.simplestepsdental.com/SS/ihtSS/r.WSIHW000/st.31927/t.31927/pr.3.html\n\nIf you go for root canal treatment....\nroot canal price + final restoration (crown, full cuspal coverage amalgam)\n\nIf you go for extraction\nExtraction price (dependent if you do IV sedation or just plain anesthetic) + final restoration (Fixed partial denture i.e. bridge; removable partial denture; Implant which includes surgery plus crown if it takes; possible orthodontics if you decide to wait for permanent restoration)\n\nOverall you would be saving money on root canals with final restoration.  Just do research and make an informed decision.  Don't just factor in the price...\n\nRemember if you had periodic exam/cleanings this might have been prevented.\n\nNOTE:  Prevention is cheaper than fixing.  The more you do at home the less they do in the dental chair!!!
508524
if you don't think you are healing , then go back to the dentist immediately!! You should not put your tounge any where near the  places you had the teeth pulled from, i know this is hard to do because your tounge automatically will want to go there, it soothes the pain when you do this, about the blackness, i am not sure what that is but i would call the dentist first thing monday morning and inquire about what you see and feel, good luck-get better soon
523064
Smarts!  Get it?  Wisdom teeth?  Smarts?  Oh...never mind!\n\nMany people's wisdom teeth don't really "come in", if you have pain--see your dentist.  Did your dentist ever mention whether or not you have room for these teeth?  If you do then that's great....but they will be sore whilst growing in.\n\nGood luck....sorry about my joke earlier.
360021
Everyone here is right.  The deeper the filling is the more likely it is to have effected the nerve.  The way my dentist explained it to me was 'If the nerve has been disrupted, it will eventually die. It may not die today or next year but it will eventually...leading to a root canal'.  I notice sometimes when I chew gum the same thing happens;  I may get a dull ache in a tooth that has a filling in it.  Every time it occurs I panic that the nerve in the tooth has died and the abscess is setting in.  Sometimes it's the case and sometimes it's just sensitive.  The only way I can ever be sure is to have the dentist x-ray it.  If the nerve is dead, yes you will need a root canal.  If it's a molar, I suggest getting a crown.  Once the root canal is done, the tooth will weaken and be easier to break.  Crowns are pricey but well worth it.  Depending on your dental insurance, you may decide to pull it which would be the cheapest route.  Good luck!
442366
It sounds like an infection.....although you have currently taken antibiotics you may need a different kind now....you may want to follow up with the dentist ASAP......\n\nI'm sorry you're in pain....good luck
231456
Hi Chloe, I'm glad your tooth doesn't hurt anymore. You must feel a lot better now. \n\nYou need to make sure you brush your teeth twice every day and floss every day if you want to avoid getting more holes in your teeth. You could ask your mum to buy you a fluoride mouth rinse as well which can help your teeth get stronger. \n\nYou need to go to the dentist every 6 months as well. I don't know if you've been doing that, but it sounds like the cavity you had was pretty big, so you probably hadn't seen a dentist for a while, right? Speak to your mum and ask her to arrange appointments for you every 6 months to get a check up by your dentist. That way, even if you do get any more cavities, the dentist will find them when they are very small holes in your teeth and he can fix them before they start hurting. Good luck hunny!
184392
You don't feel anything at all when you have an extraction done, apart from the slight pain from the injection, but you'll have had injections before for fillings so you'll know what to expect. They get you numbed up, and then they go in with some pliers and just pull it out. Honestly, you don't feel anything except for some pressure. The noise is the worst thing really, it's kind of like a creaking noise as the roots become dislodged, and then a crack when it comes out. Afterwards, you spit out a lot of blood which is kind of freaky, but it doesn't bleed for all that long. I took pain killers for a couple of days afterwards I think, but I don't think I really needed them. It feels weird having a hole in your gum, and always tempting to stick your tongue in it - but don't, it will dislodge the clot! Honestly, I'd just get it done under local. I had 3 teeth pulled at once when I was only about 12, done under local, and yeah, I was really scared, but it honestly wasn't that bad.
579817
I got 4 fillings done a week ago and I'm still having some sensitivity from them now, one in particular which was really deep. I have to go back to the dentist on Monday anyway to get more fillings, so I'm going to ask him to take a look at them then - I'll let you know what he advises!
423225
You can wait. Dentists have this thing where they try to "catch a cavity early" even if it's not serious. That's just more money they're putting in their pockets to have it filled. I brush, floss, and rinse after every meal everyday and when I went to the dentist last week, they just happened to find two cavities. My teeth have not been bothering me at all. Unless it starts to bother you, then you can probably wait.
420179
You can't feel pain from it, but yes it can get caries (cavities) again.  all the RCT (root canal therapy) does is remove the nerve from the tooth.  your doc should have discussed crown options with you, if not, look into it.  after RCT, the tooth structure is weakened, leaving the tooth suseptible to cracking and breaking.  look into gold or porcelain crowns.
304765
I didn't think it was horrible..I took my time studying all the given materials. I think the most frustrating aspect was pouring models - they start to set too early sometimes. Xrays..back up from the patient. If you can see where you're aiming in relation to to the patient's facial structure, you'll get a better xray. I learned too...not to aim it straight toward the tooth: In other words, for #14, raise it slightly higher than the upper jaw, then aim downward toward the tooth. That way, you get a decent shot of the roots too. You don't crop the xray, leaving only the tooth visible on the film. Kinda hard to expain without showing someone in person...But nah, you'll get it. It'll be fine. Good luck!!!
536144
If you are in that much pain you dentist should have an emergency call number!! If not try a walk in clinic for a RX until you can get to see a dentist! Take blue's advice!!
352965
don't open wide or clench your teeth and it won't hurt.\n\n\nactually, if i were in your position, i would have it looked at by a dentist. i would hate to have anything come between thanksgiving dinner and my taste buds
627975
Go see a dentist!!  No one here is a dentist, or at least as I've seen from the responses to your question, and neither am I, but I can tell you that if you are having a problem related to tooth decay, IT WON'T GO AWAY BY WISHING IT AWAY!!! And the longer you wait the longer you'll suffer and the more work the dentist will have to do to fix the problem, and you'll get even more scared, and a bigger bill.  Another possibility here is that you're having sinusitis, or impacted sinuses, and that can hurt like hell and make it feel like your teeth are going to explode out of your mouth.  Go see some medical or dental professional.  This ain't gonna go away by hoping it does.  I know!!  What's that phrase: "Been there; Done that!!!!"  Get a  move on girl!!  You'll be glad you did!  God Bless you.