Pain after Crown...HELP!

[ScaredoftheDentist]

I recently had a crown put on one of my lower teeth. Not the very back one but the next one forward.  There was a cavity that the dentist was going to try to just fill but he said it would be better to go with a crown because I would probably need one in a couple of years anyway.  The temporary crown was perfect.  No pain whatsoever.  The perm. crown was ok for about a week.  Then it started to hurt when I would chew on that side.  There was pain in the tooth and in the jaw area.  I went back to the dentist and he said my bite was off and filed it down.  It still hurt.  Went back and he did the filing again.  This time he said there was a muscle knot in my jaw and the pain could just be that the bite caused the muscle to tighten up.  Filed the crown down more and told me to take ibuprofen.  Now the jaw is feeling better but the tooth is still sensitive when I chew on that side.  It's not as bad as it was, but it's not normal like my other crown either.  I had NO pain when he was filing the crown down and he told me that normally if you need a root canal you can't stand to have the drill on your crown.  I'm hoping it will eventually get better.  Any ideas?

[Igorot]

A related discussion, pain after permanent crown was started.

[ScaredoftheDentist]

Hi Mike thank you so much!  The pain is not severe AT ALL, just doesn't feel the same as my other crown, which just feels like a normal tooth.  I will give it time.  Thank you again for your prompt reply!  Happy Thanksgiving!

[mike1105]

should get better. the muscle issue should resolve w massage/heat packs etc-- like any other muscle spasm. the tooth may have a pulpitis--which is an inflamed nerve from the crown being high. it is usually reversible and should be ok. if not, the tooth may need root canal treatment, but i would not make this decision quickly. unkless the pain is severe, i'd give it weeks if not months to calm down. swelling, fever, spontaneous throbbing pain are signs that you may need root canal treatment.

[ScaredoftheDentist]

Hi Forum DDS.  Thanks for the response!  It does in fact feel like it might be loose.  What is the cure for that?  As you can tell by my screen name I am seriously scared of the dentist and really hope this just improves on it's own, but I sure don't want anything make it worse!

[Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.]

The fact that it seems to be improving is a good sign. It is possible that the cement irritated the nerve and this discomfort is the result of that. The other two possibilities is that the crown is loose or in fact you do need a root canal. I would give it some more time, but if the pain persists or gets worse I would pay a visit to the dentist. There has to be  a point that you can   bite on this tooth in normal function.