BG Dental: I just had a filling fall out...

[Tyche]

Yeah, I ate a damn jolly rancher today, and I think it knocked it loose. It's a really old filling, it's been in for several years. I still have the filling. A few questions.

1. Is this going to start hurting?
2. How much is it going to set me back to get replaced or whatever?

[Melena]

If you have dental insurance, not much. If you don't have insurance, probably bout 100-200.

[Yuri-G]

it will probably start hurting very soon unless the root is dead (but then you would have had a root canal). is it sensitive to anything right now?

shouldn't cost more than a normal filling. probably won't cost less either. it might, though - I've never had this happen.

[Tyche]

It's not tender, but I didn't have a root canal. After ~2hours, there's been no pain. Unfortunately, no dental insurance.

[Kandykanez]

dental hygienist here. the price can vary wildly depending on where you go. If there's a dental school nearby, you can make an appointment there and get it done for the cheapest price you'll find. The work will be thorough because they have to be supervised and follow everything by-the-book. In the meantime, if it does get sensitive, try brushing with sensodyne. I had a filling done recently at Columbia and it was only $65 for a composite (the tooth colored one).
consider the two options, amalgam or composite. amalgams last longer, but they're probably going to have to drill out more enamel to fasten a new filling.
Composite, they can fill in the cavity as-is, and with little to no extra tooth loss. people will never see the filling either, if you care about cosmetics.
Keeping your natural tooth intact is always the stronger/better option, so I usually recommend the composites.

[Correction]

I thought the rule of thumb was that by the time your tooth starts hurting you're past the inexpensive repair options. Get thee to a dentist.

[Kandykanez]

I thought the rule of thumb was that by the time your tooth starts hurting you're past the inexpensive repair options. Get thee to a dentist.

completely untrue. a tooth could hurt for any number of immediately/easily dealt with reasons. if his filling was drilled through the enamel into the underlying dentin, that material is permeable to heat/cold/whathaveyou. he could be experiencing pain through that, which is not a critical concern.

[Mici]

I ad one fall out last week. Hurt like a bitch, but it fell out because the side of the tooth chipped off.
Anyways, cost me $80 at the local low cost clinic. Even though I make too much for the discounted price it's still cheap, so maybe see if you have one around.

[Ruiner]

I don't really have any advice for you (I have dental insurance and mine always started hurting right away), but I just wanted to pop in and say that this happens to me ALL THE FUCKING TIME, and it SUCKS.

[miokomioko]

I had a filling fall out a while back. I didn't know it when it happened, but I was alerted to it as food ended up filling the hole and causing some occasionally unbearable pain. The best thing you could do about it until you get it refilled is use a water flosser (or something similarly high-pressure-water-shooting) to clear it out each time after you eat. I wish I could give you a price estimate since I didn't have insurance either at the time, but a good friend of mine is a dentist and he has hooked me up with procedures for cheap. Not to mention I had it done at the same time as a root canal (fun) so it got mixed in with that hefty price tag.

[Guyverarmor]

Yeah, I need to go get some major dental work done... my teeth are so messed up it's not even funnny no dental insurance for past 5 years or so. Didn't know I could go to a college or something until this thread, will be looking into that !

[Kandykanez]

Yeah, I need to go get some major dental work done... my teeth are so messed up it's not even funnny no dental insurance for past 5 years or so. Didn't know I could go to a college or something until this thread, will be looking into that !

Yup! If there isn't a dental school nearby, you'll more than likely have a dental hygiene school in some local colleges. You can get a TON of work done for super cheap. They won't be able to fix your cavities or any dentist-specific work, but they'll be able to halt/maintain whatever current damage you have.

[Siniroth]

I don't really have any advice for you (I have dental insurance and mine always started hurting right away), but I just wanted to pop in and say that this happens to me ALL THE FUCKING TIME, and it SUCKS.

If it happens quite that often, you might want to look into getting another dentist

[MaachaQ]

I had an old mercury/silver filling fall out a few years ago, most likely because I tend to grind my teeth and had actually split the tooth >.> Ended up having to have a cap made for that tooth, and the dentist replaced some of my other old silver fillings will amalgam, which should stand up to the added pressure better. He also fitted me for a tooth guard I'm supposed to wear while sleeping and anytime I think I might grind my teeth. Luckily I had insurance at the time so only paid a couple hundred dollars for all of it.

[altwight]

ive had my fillings for 11 years and they've never fallen out although i do think one is loose now because of the painful sensation i get when eating something sweet/cold/hot. my friend's filling fell out 3 days ago and she had to get some uber pain killers because the pain was that bad. i guess it varies from person to person.

[Tyche]

I ate late night...chewed gum too. Still no pain, so I guess i got lucky. Anyone know how I would go about contacting a dental school for the work?

Edit: no dentistry schools within 100 miles

[ZarakiKujata]

Dentists keep Saturday hours so get it taken care of today if possible; you do not want to be in pain tomorrow w/ no dentist willing to see you.

[Mojo]

I'd try and get in pretty quick if I were you. The pit created by the filling coming out is a good site for tooth decay. If you wait too long they'll have to take away more of your tooth so that the new filling will adhere. Deep fillings like this are bad because they have a chance of insulting the pulp of your tooth. If this happens, the pulp can swell up, restrict it's own blood flow, die and become necrotic (in which case it's root canal time.) I have no idea how deep your filling already was, but I wouldn't wait, call someone today.

[Kandykanez]

I called up a dentist buddy of mine, and he said they have temporary filling resin at some pharmacies. Call around and see if that'll work for ya in the meantime.