From my experience, I don't think recoil was the likely cause if the filling were amalgam, the old style "silver colored" fillings.
If you have old amalgam fillings, probably what was used by military dentists up until a few years ago, the amalgam doesn't have the same thermal expansion coefficient as dentine and enamal so as temperatures change with hot and cold food, the fillings that tends to stress the teeth and cause minor cracks in the structure, allowing the fillings to loosen.
After 50 years, I had several large old fillings cause teeth to actually crack and eventually require caps. My dentist explained the process and never even considered recoil or external conditions. Apparently he had seen enough filling damage to recommend that all large amalgam fillings be considered for replacement before they do any more damage. Fortunately for me, the three that failed were the only ones left so he wasn't trying to sell me more dental work.
My dentist explained that they now use filling materials that are closer to your teeth's expansion and contraction coefficients to eliminate the problem. They also make inserts, if they are needed, out of ceramic to eliminate the problem with really big fillings. I got one of those for one of the three teeth and he letthe machine finished the milling, the insert actually dropped right in and fit perfectly. All he had to do was use some kind of dental epoxy or something to put it in place. I was really impressed.