Within the last month and a half I have developed an odd and lingering pain in one of my teeth. Based on where the pain is stemming from I think it is under one of my caps covering a root canal. I recently (one week ago) returned to the dentist after telling him about a pain when chewing and assumed it was the most recent filling he performed on the tooth behind it. I went in and he replaced the filling with a new one. The filling he took out was fine. The next few days I could chew in that area except for crunchy items such as chips and crackers. As of today the pain is there when I chew on softer items such as rice and roasted potatoes.

I am to the point where I do not look forward to my next meal because of the pain in the tooth. I have been chewing the majority of the food I eat on the other side of my mouth, and even that has lead to some sensitivity lately (I have been combating the sensitivity with prescription toothpaste).

The pain under the cap is not a sensitivity pain, but more of a sudden shocking pain when I apply pressure to something between the upper and lower teeth. Sometime when I rest my teeth together I can even feel it. While the pain when pressure is applied to the contacting teeth, there is a dull lingering pain below the tooth that hangs around for more than 5-10 minutes. More of an ache than a pain.

Two or so weeks before I noticed this pain I tried some whitening trays I got from my dentist, and for some reason was whitening all of my teeth (They told me not to, but I may be an idiot). I began to notice the pain and abruptly stopped with the whitening and began brushing with some Sensodyne to see if it was a sensitivity issue.

I am a bit concerned with contacting and going back to my dentist, especially after I had him replace a good filling with a good filling. I don't think I am at the top of his valued patients, but I could be wrong.

Any help any of you can give me would be great. I really am hoping it is just some kind of infection that is easy to take care of.

You might want to get a second opinion from a very well respected dentist. Think long and hard before having any work done. Just make sure.

If there is a chance of nerve damage, it seems dentists know to play dumb, or be rude, or to accuse you of being crazy or do unnecessary procedures....just about anything but utter the words "nerve damage" or " see a neurologist."

Hopefully, you do not have nerve damage and need additional dental work that will bring relief.

Proceed slowly and with caution.

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