Hey, I went to the dentist the other day as I had a pain that started in the occulusal portion of a bottom left tooth (Second from the back). Significant Pain was felt when drinking cold and hot drinks and chewing (although only minor irritation during chewing). If I cover the occlusal portion of the tooth with my tongue and drink then there is no pain.

It was clear that there were holes on the tooth, more like shallow crevices, 4 of them (had been there for years, never been an issue and dentists never felt the need to fill).

I go in and said something must be wrong with that tooth. Dentist checked it out and said it just needed to be filled without any drilling. She said “the years did the drilling for me”.

I got the filling done without drilling or freezing which was OK.

My issue is now 4 days later the sensitivity to cold/hot is only 10% better at max. It has not gotten progressively better at all. It feels the exact same as when I got out of the dentists chair. She aligned my bite pretty well, so I don’t think it could be that.

I have two questions:

1. It is normal for dentists to fill and not drill? I guess these holes were just giving easy access to nerves so pain was felt?

2. What could the issue be and how long should I wait to make another appointment with a dentist?

Any help massively appreciated!