What is this gritty feeling between teeth?

Question

I recently had some fillings and restorations done on my teeth, and one tooth in particular has been bothering me since this was done. Daily I keep feeling grit or something between that tooth and the tooth next to it and I'm not eating anything at the time and nothing is stuck in between my teeth, I floss daily. My teeth were cleaned after all of the work was completed on my teeth due to sensitivity issues, but I was experiencing this grit feeling between my teeth right after my first fillings were done. What is this? I never experienced this prior to having this dental work done.

These were composite restorations and fillings. There was some sort of grey stuff on my floss soon after the work was done and that area around the corner of the tooth where I floss is tender and felt sharp.

Answer 1

This "grit" could be the amalgam restoration you had done that day may have fractured sometime after the cleaning and small bits of it are breaking loose in your mouth, if it "was" an amalgam or silver filling that was placed. Usually the bonding of a composite won't leave a gritty feeling in your mouth. Try to floss really well in that area and see if any "grey" color is on the floss or you can remove any of it. Regardless, you should call for a follow up appointment with your dentist for this to be checked. A small particle of the filling material may be lodged under the gum causing this and it needs to be removed. Hope I was of some help and good luck.

Additional information: If this is a molar or pre molar tooth it could have been an old amalgam filling (silver) that was "removed" due to decay and replaced with a composite. "Particles" from the removal of the amalgam may have "gotten lodged under the tissue," then the matrix band (the metal ring that forms the tooth) was placed forcing these particles "deeper" under the tissue. Then the composite was placed and cured before the matrix band was removed, and there may have been a little bleeding making it even more difficult to see. So it's possible the amalgam particles were over looked. That would explain why you had grey color on your floss. I'm not making excuses for your dentist or the assistant, but I do know this would be an easy one to make especially if your busy and had done a lot of work on you that day, they may have been trying to rush for your comfort. You know that everyone makes a mistake some time. This could have been one of those times. You may be able to tie a single knot in a piece of floss, slip it in as you normally would to floss, only next you'll need to slide the floss out one side dragging the knot under the tissue. This is what we do to dislodge foreign particles (like pop corn hulls or peanut skins)that get stuck. Maybe it will remove any other amalgam left under there. A sharp edge or chip makes for a bacteria trap which leads to plaque and then decay later, so that needs to be smoothed also. For you own peace of mind, let the dentist smooth the filling and check this problem area out for you and make sure it's cleaned out good. Sorry this happened but like I said, everybody makes a mistake sometime, this is a "simple but inconvenient one." Good luck!

Answer 2

could be just some bonding agent left over. see your dentist and he can use something to remove the excess bonding