Crack in tooth shortly after filling. Any suggestions?

Question

I had a filling done 6 weeks ago and noticed it has progressively gotten more sensitive to temperature changes. Yesterday it became painful so I took a look and the same tooth is now cracked. What is the best treatment and should is it unreasonable to expect my dentist to fix it free of charge? I don't chew ice, lollipops, pens, etc, and have never had a cracked tooth before, so I highly doubt this was caused by me.

Vicki Borowski, DDS · Answer

You don't mention why the filling was necessary to begin with. It's possible that your tooth was already cracked and your dentist was trying to be conservative by doing a filling instead of a crown and possibly a root canal. Teeth can crack for many reasons beside the ones you listed. I'm sure your dentist will be reasonable with respect to fees charged for additional treatment but it is definitely unfair to ask the dentist to restore your tooth for no charge.

Courtney L. Lavigne, DMD (retired) · Answer

Hi there,I would call your dentist and have them take a look at the tooth in its current state. There are a number of reasons that teeth can crack, and your dentist can probably give you a thorough evaluation and explanation after looking at it. Most dentists today can take a photo inside the mouth and show you. If the tooth is sensitive and broken, that's not normal following a filling and you should return to your dentist to have it looked at.Best of luck!

Crack in tooth shortly after filling. Any suggestions?

Answers (2)