Is my dentist to blame?

[toothpain]

I am a bit worried that I have not been recieving proper treatment from my new dentist.  When I went in for my preliminary check-up I was told that I need fillings in my upper and lower right and left teeth.  Over the past month I've have fillings in left upper and lower.  When I returned to get me lower left fillings the dentist removed some excess filling from my upper right teeth that was causing me discomfort. After the dentist re-shaped my teeth, the pain went away.

I recently had fillings in my upper right teeth.  Again, I felt pain and discomfort (as if my teeth were not aligned correctly).  I went on for a week, waking up with a lot of pain during my sleep.  After a week of consistent pain I went back to my dentist, and sure enough, they missed some more excess filling.  During my week of pain I was taking asprin.  The dentist told me that if I had anymore pain I would probably have to get a root canal.  They put me on 'advil treatment' for 5 days...and now I still have pain, however, I do not have pain from chewing or sleeping.

My question is this: 1. Could I have damage my tooth further because of the excess filling that originally caused pain when chewing and sleeping? 2. Is it the dentists repsonsibility to make sure that my 'bite' is correct after doing work on my teeth? 3. Is it the dentists responsiblity to inform me that I should take Advil (or anti-inflamatory medicine) as oppose to asprin. 4. If my dentist is at fault, what do I do?

[Jordy]

I can only answer 2 and 3.

2.  A perfect bite is a very difficult thing for a dentist to achieve right away after working with filling material, crowns, etc.  Often effects from numbing agents distorts your own sense of your bite, so you can't tell the dentist effectively how your bite feels while you sit in the chair, or you may say it feels fine because you're still numb, even a hint of numbness will scew your perception.  Plus, you teeth may "settle in" a bit after a procedure, creating a noticeable high spot where there wasn't one before.  I have an excellent dentist and have at times gone back two or even three times to have a bite adjusted.

3.  It is not at all unusual for a dentist to prescribe an anti-inflammatory instead of aspiring.  My dentist and two separate endodontists have all "prescribed" me to take large doses to counteract extreme dental inflammation.  Most dental and medical professionals will not suggest aspirin for ANYTHING.  Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or Ibuprofen (Advil) are what you will find most doctors or dentists will suggest you take for whatever particular discomfort you might have.  Ibuprofen has stronger anti-inflammatory properties than acetaminophen.  Both are better tolerated than regular aspirin.  You'll probably never get handed regular aspirin in any doctor's or dentist's office, and you won't get it as a hospital patient either.

[Jordy]

To expand on number 3, I'm not entirely clear if you're asking should he have told you about Advil instead of aspirin FIRST, before your problems began.  I'd say no.  Usually, when a dental procedure is done, the dentist does not always tell you what to take for pain because, depending the procedure, pain is not necessarily expected.  I've been told "Tylenol" as many times as "Advil" even though tylenol is not an anti-inflammatory.  It sounds like as soon as he knew of your pain he told you what to take; it's not his responsibility that you were taking something on your own before you told him about it.