Hi, I went to the dentist last Friday because I wanted to get my teeth checked out. She gave me a filling in two teeth...both the second last molar from the back on the upper left and right side. The filling on the left has given me no trouble since but the one on the right has been painful ever since, not all the time but when I am eating food. I went back to a different dentist on Tuesday (as the other one was a few hours away from where I work) and he filed down the filling for me as it was a little high. However, it is still hurting when I eat...could you advise as to why this is? Could the filling have irritated the nerve or something, or do you think it just needs a while to settle down?
Hello and thank you for your question. You have little ligaments around the tooth called periodontal ligaments.  This flex up and down when you bite firmly against them.  When you get a filling that is high, you have more pressure onto these ligaments leading to pain and inflammation.  The longer you have this trauma the longer it takes to heal.  The tooth may be adjusted correctly, and you need to have the inflammation go down.  Give your tooth some rest and allow it to heal for several weeks.  It can take 3 weeks for this pain to subside.  If it doesn't get better or gets worse, do not hesitate to be reevaluated.  Best wishes.