Ear pain and tooth sensitivity after filling

[vamesh]

I had a silver filling replaced in a lower molar over two weeks ago because the dentist told me it was "leaking". I believed her and had it replaced. They used a composite (tooth-colored) filling to replace it. I received two Novocaine shots and the procedure went very smoothly. The dentist said there was no new decay under the old filling. After the Novocaine wore off, I had considerable pain where the shots had been given, mostly it seemed in my jaw near my ear. That went away after a couple days. I had mild discomfort in the tooth where the work had been done, but no big deal. Now I have mild to severe pain in my inner ear and the effected tooth is more sensitive than ever to heat, cold and food in general. The pain alternates between seeming like I have an ear infection
or sinus problem and seeming like it's related to the tooth. Sometimes the pain is sharp, sometimes it's dull and throbbing. Advil offers some relief, but I'd like to know how long this might go on, and whether or not I should see the doctor or the dentist.

[Marin600]

Hi!  Although you can have a residual pain that lingers off and on for many weeks in the area of the needle, apparently while a nerve heals, I would be concerned about an infection.  Call the dentist, emphasize the inner ear pain along with the tooth sensitivity.  
Call your primary doctor, explain the situation, and ask for an ENT referral, stressing the need for an immediate appt because of the severe inner ear pain.  If you can't see someone today, go to the nearest immediate care center covered by your insurance company.  They'll get you where you'll get the best care if it's beyond their expertise.  Good luck to you.  Please do this today.  Let us know what happens.

[vamesh]

Thanks for your timely advice. I went to the dentist again yesterday and told her of the pain. She took an x-ray and found that there was an overhang of filling material between the 2 teeth she worked on. Strange that she didn't even apologize for her mistake. She cleared it and told me that it should be OK now. In the evening it started to hurt again but not as severe as before, although the pain in the ear is intermittent. Also the sensitivity is not so bad as before. But this morning, the pain was a bit too much and  I had to take Motrin to rid the pain. I can clearly feel the pain in the tooth and pain in the bone to the ear. Do you still think I should go to the ENT?

[tmv]

I battled this off and on for several months on a tooth, the radiating ear pain. However, I cannot say this is your problem. My filling was aparently very deep and I continued to wait about a year and it just kept getting worse. Had a root canal that greatly helped but even on occasion there is a twinge of nerve pain, not to the ear and not constant and almost unbearable as before. Hope this helps you some. Let us know your progress.

[scottma]

Occlusal interfrence of new restoration is probably the triggering factor of latent tmj issue, if no ear pathollogy ever identified. Going back to your dentist to have occlusal adjustment is advised.