Did the dentist hit dentin if I felt a sensation during drilling?

[SteveC508]

I recently had a dentist remove bonding from one of my bottom front teeth. During the removal the dentist used a drill and at one point I could feel a sudden sensation in the tooth. Does that mean she drilled through enamel and hit dentin?

The tooth has also been slightly tingly at times since then (it happened over a month ago). I'm concerned the dentist removed enamel and the sensation I felt was a sign she drilled entirely through it.

 

[Dr M]

Good day

Is the tooth still sensitive now?

 

[SteveC508]

It is a bit yes. It still tingles or I sometimes get a light throbbing feeling. It doesn’t hurt though. I like to think it’s the tooth trying to heal itself a bit.

 

[Dr M]

That might indicate that the dentin is exposed. Unfortunately it is impossible to determine what happened since everyone is different and I don't know what your enamel looked like before the time.
If you can get hold of some Sensodyne toothpaste, I would suggest trying some. I often advise my patients to rub some Sensodyne on the affected tooth with your finger, all over the tooth, and then leave it on the tooth. Don't rinse your mouth. Do this twice a day. This often alleviates the symptoms.

 

[SteveC508]

Thank you. I do actually use Sensodyne toothpaste, and it helps. It's helpful to know that the sensation I'm feeling might indicate dentin is exposed. That's what I had thought.

 

[SteveC508]

Also, this is how the tooth looked before. It had plenty of enamel I believe. I know these are different angles but still maybe is helpful.