After
After a filling
Why a new filling can be sensitive for weeks and still be fine, how to tell a high bite from a problem, and the small number of things worth ringing about.
Get help now if
Very little goes wrong after a filling, and almost nothing that does is an emergency. Two exceptions, and then the ordinary list.
Ring a dentist, the same day
- Swelling of the gum, cheek or face, or a temperature, in the days after the appointment. That is a sign of infection rather than of a filling settling, and it does not wait for the review appointment.
- Pain that is severe, throbbing, keeps you awake, or is set off by heat and then lingers. Something has changed in the nerve, and the answer is a dentist, not more paracetamol.
If the swelling is spreading — towards or under your eye, down your neck, or into the floor of your mouth under your tongue — or if your eye is swelling shut or your eyesight changes, or you cannot open your mouth properly, or you are having difficulty breathing, speaking or swallowing, that is hospital territory rather than a dental appointment. Ring 999 if breathing, speaking or swallowing is affected; otherwise go to an emergency department. Do not drive yourself — have somebody take you, or ring an ambulance.
What was done
The decay was cut out and the space rebuilt. The tooth is not quite the same object it was an hour ago: it has had a hole in it, been dried out, been drilled, and had something bonded or packed into it. A few weeks of it letting you know is ordinary.
Today
While you are numb, do not eat, and do not drink anything hot. You cannot feel a scald and you cannot feel your own cheek — a bitten lip is the commonest thing that goes wrong after a filling, and it is entirely avoidable.
There is a separate page on getting through the numbness, which is more useful than it sounds.
→ After a numbing injection
Once the feeling is back, eat normally with one qualification below.
A white filling is set hard before you leave. The blue light does that. You can chew on it as soon as you can feel what you are chewing.
A metal filling needs a little more patience. Amalgam gains its full strength over the first day, so for the rest of today treat that side gently — soft food, nothing hard, and chew on the other side if you can.
The bite
This is the one worth reading properly, because it is the most common real problem and the easiest to fix.
A new filling should feel like your own tooth. If the tooth feels tall, or your teeth meet on that one first, or you find yourself avoiding biting on it, the filling is a fraction too high. It is a two-minute adjustment with no injection needed.
It matters more than it sounds. A high filling takes the whole force of your bite on one spot, which keeps the tooth sore, can crack the filling, and is a very common reason a tooth that "never settled after a filling" never settled.
Give it a day. A numb bite is an unreliable bite, and plenty of fillings that feel odd on the evening feel normal by the morning. If it still feels high the next day, ring and say so. You are not being fussy; you are reporting the thing they asked you to check.
Sensitivity
Expected, and the part people worry about most.
- Cold is the usual one — a sharp, brief zing that stops the moment the cold goes. That pattern is the tooth complaining, not failing.
- It can last a few weeks. Deeper fillings take longer, because the repair is closer to the nerve.
- It should be getting better, even if slowly. Direction matters more than speed.
- A sensitive-teeth toothpaste helps, used as ordinary toothpaste, twice a day, and not rinsed off afterwards.
What is not the ordinary pattern: pain that lingers for minutes after the cold has gone, pain brought on by heat, pain that wakes you, or pain that is worse each week rather than better. Those are worth a phone call rather than a wait.
The next few days
| Day 1 | Numbness, then a tender tooth and possibly a tender jaw. Check the bite once the feeling is fully back. |
| Days 2–7 | Sensitivity to cold, settling. The gum next to the tooth may be sore where it was held aside or clipped. |
| Weeks 2–6 | Sensitivity fading. A deep filling can take the whole of this. |
| After that | It should feel like a tooth. If it does not, it is worth another look. |
The rest of it
- Painkillers if you need them. Paracetamol first. If you take a blood thinner of any kind — warfarin, apixaban, dabigatran, rivaroxaban, edoxaban, clopidogrel, ticagrelor, prasugrel, dipyridamole, a daily injection such as enoxaparin, or aspirin a doctor put you on — take paracetamol and not ibuprofen, aspirin, diclofenac or naproxen. These raise the bleeding risk alongside those medicines. If your medicine is not on that list and you are not sure which kind it is, ask a pharmacist before taking ibuprofen. And if paracetamol is not enough, or you cannot take it, ring your dentist rather than reaching for ibuprofen — there are other options, and they are a phone call away. The rule does not relax just because this was a filling: the interaction stands where there is no wound to bleed from. If you are not on one, ibuprofen is an option if you normally take it safely. Follow the packet and do not exceed the dose printed on it. Do not put a painkiller against the gum: aspirin in particular burns the tissue it sits on.
- Brush it normally, tonight, including the filling. There is nothing to protect.
- Floss carefully for a day or two. If floss shreds or catches on the new filling every single time, mention it — usually it means a rough edge that takes seconds to smooth.
- The gum may be sore rather than the tooth, particularly if a clip or a dam was used. It settles in a few days.
Your dentist’s instructions come first
The instructions you were given by the dentist who treated you take precedence over anything on this page. They know which material they used, how deep the cavity was and what they expect of it; this page does not. Where the two differ, follow theirs.
Sources
- Fillings, and dental pain — NHS
- Dental extractions: post-operative instructions — University College London Hospitals
- Dental amalgam phase-out under the Minamata Convention — British Dental Association; trade reporting, November 2025
Who to ring
Routes and numbers checked .
England
Ring your own dentist.
Otherwise NHS 111, by phone or at 111.nhs.uk, at any hour. They will arrange urgent treatment if you need it.
A GP cannot help with a dental problem.
Scotland
In working hours, ring your own practice — or your health board’s dental helpline if you are not registered with one.
Out of hours — from 6pm on weekdays, and from 6pm Friday to 8am Monday — 111 reaches NHS 24.
NHS 24 is a separate service from NHS 111 in England, on the same number.
Wales
Ring your own dentist.
Otherwise ring your health board's dental helpline — that is what NHS Wales asks you to do first. In Cardiff and the Vale it is 0300 10 20 247. In the Aneurin Bevan area (Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, Torfaen) it is 01633 744387, weekdays 9am to 12.15pm and 1.15pm to 4pm, with advice only outside those hours. In Betsi Cadwaladr, Cwm Taf Morgannwg, Hywel Dda, Swansea Bay and Powys, ring 111, at any hour.
Which number you ring depends on where you are, not where you are registered.
Northern Ireland
Ring your own practice first, whatever the day — they will tell you what out-of-hours arrangements they have. If you are not registered, ring local practices, and ask about the Dental Access Scheme if you cannot get seen.
At weekends and on bank holidays, the Emergency Dental Clinics triage by telephone on 028 2566 3510, lines open 8am to noon. You will be given an appointment if you need one.
Do not attend a clinic without an appointment. On a weekday evening or overnight there is no dental service at all — listen to your practice's answerphone, and use 999 or an emergency department only for the signs above.