One of my molars has become really sensitive to everything—heat, cold, even air. It has a large filling in it, and I’ve worried that it has a hole in it, or has worn thin or something. I have braces, too, and wondered if maybe that had something to do with this.
I went to see my dentist, and he diagnosed it in about three seconds! He blew some air on it a few times, asked if it hurt, then put a “desensitizing bonding agent” on it. That was it. He was in and out of the examination room in less than five minutes. He is always very abrupt, and never asks if I have any questions. I get the feeling like he is always in a hurry to be done and get on to whatever he is planning to do next.
I don’t feel like he really took the time to figure out what is going on with my tooth. Could he really diagnose my problem accurately that fast?
Peggy in Nashville
Dear Peggy,
To answer your question, yes, in some cases a very fast and accurate diagnosis can be made. The pain issue you described was very straight forward, from the sounds of it.
If you experience pain when air is blown on your tooth, that means that there is a sensitive, unprotected spot on your tooth. The amount of time you feel the pain is very important. If the tooth hurts for a moment and then is fine, that indicates that the nerve or pulp of the tooth is irritated, but has the potential to heal on its own. In that case, the treatment would be what you describe your dentist doing, which is to use a desensitizing bonding agent.
Conversely, if the pain lingers for more than a few seconds after the air is blown on it, the irritation of the nerve or pulp will require root canal treatment. It is irreversible, and will not heal on its own. So it sounds as if your dentist felt that your sensitive tooth has a good chance of healing on its own, which is good.
The underlying issue here, though, is your feeling of not being able to ask questions. This is not a situation that builds trust with your dentist, and without trust you simply cannot have good care. If you are not comfortable addressing this problem first with the dentist, try talking to the assistant the next time you are in, or speak to the receptionist on the phone. Let them know that if the dentist doesn’t have time for your questions, you’ll be finding a new dentist. Good luck!
