You woke up one morning to notice a little portion of your gum swelling. It doesn't hurt but it does fill a little uncomfortable. You feel it and it's like a little balloon pressed up right under a tooth. You cannot figure out how it got there; you only know it's been there for the last 6 hours at least and you are starting to worry what it is about.
Ask yourself these questions: did you get a dental filling recently? Is the swelling located right under the recently filled tooth? Can you feel a little pressure pressing against the gum from the inside but it's small enough to disregard in the meantime?
If your answer to all three questions is YES, then you have a botched filling job. Yes, dentists can be the most careful people in the world but there are times when even extreme carefulness leads to a few hiccups.
The most likely reason for the swelling is because the tooth was not properly cleaned and got infected during the filling process. Preparing the tooth for filling is a very delicate process and any mishap can cause it to be infected. The swelling might not manifest immediately but it's bound to come out in a few days time.
Immediately visit your dentist and inform him of the problem. In some cases, medication is sufficient to relieve the swelling and completely heal the tooth with no future problems. In severe cases however, the only available remedy is to fully extract the tooth to relieve the pressure, clean the infection and prevent it from spreading any further.
Only your dentist, after careful examination, can make this call so forget playing doctor and deciding for yourself. Trust the expert and you're going to come out just fine.
And oh, if it is indeed a botched cleaning job, talk to your dentist properly. I'm sure you'll get all the extra extraction or cleaning services at zero cost.
It's the least that they can do.
