After tooth extraction surgery, it's common to feel throbbing in the extraction area (known as the 'socket') as well as sensitivity. This is perfectly normal, and your dentist will likely prescribe some pain relief to help you minimise discomfort.
Throbbing pain during the first 24 hours after your extraction is likely just a sign that your body is healing. The pain should respond well to any over-the-counter or prescription medications you take. It may also decrease with basic self-care.
The explicit throbbing pain in your jaw represents another telltale signal of dry sockets. The pain may reach your ear, eye, temple or neck from the extraction site. The soft dental extraction site usually feels on the same side.
Symptoms of dry socket:
Intense throbbing pain in the tooth socket that radiates to the bone or the face. Pain upon cold temperature. Bad breath. foul taste in the mouth.
After about 3 days, the empty tooth socket will have mostly healed. There should be no more bleeding present, and swelling should be minimal at this point. You may still experience some tenderness or soreness, but you should no longer feel pain or discomfort.
Throbbing pain during the first 24 hours post-extraction is a sign that your body is healing. Headaches, pain around the temples, neck or jaw and a sore throat may result from swelling and should subside within 1-3 days. Some temporary side effects of tooth extraction include: Bleeding.
By day 3, your gum swelling should subside and your open wound from extraction will begin to close. In 7 days, your gums should be very close to being completely healed with minimal sensitivity or pain. These are all signs that your gums are healing nicely and in the expected time frame.
Dry sockets become increasingly painful in the days after a tooth extraction. They may also have exposed bone or tissue, or an unpleasant smell. By comparison, normal healing sockets get less painful over time and do not cause any other symptoms. A dry socket can be very painful, but it is not usually serious.
Partial or total loss of the blood clot at the tooth extraction site, which you may notice as an empty-looking (dry) socket. Visible bone in the socket. Pain that radiates from the socket to your ear, eye, temple or neck on the same side of your face as the extraction. Bad breath or a foul odor coming from your mouth.
How will I know if my blood clot fell out? If you develop dry sockets, the pain will let you know that your wound is no longer protected. Swelling is also an indication you have lost your blood clot, as is the taste of blood in your mouth.
You often cannot see a dry socket. Discoloration of a healing site is normal. A normal clot will often appear white in the mouth as it matures. The pain may keep you up at night and is often not fully treated by over the counter pain medicines.
A dry socket pain doesn't always begin right away. It can take several days before the pain begins. Most of the time, the pain starts small and gradually gets worse over time. Other times the pain can begin without warning and can be excruciating in which case you should seek an emergency dentist immediately.
This arises from damaged tissue. Signals are picked up by sensory receptors in nerve endings in the damaged tissue. The nerves transmit the signals to the spinal cord, and then to the brain where the signals are interpreted as pain, which is often described as aching or throbbing.
Pain After a Tooth Extraction
The pain is due to the underlying inflammation and the reaction of the body's anti-inflammatory cells as they fight it. Due to a dry socket, you may have severe pain in the extraction site three or four days after an extraction.
It is normal for post-operative pain to increase in the first 1-2 days along with swelling which usually peaks at about 48 hours. It is also normal in the case where four third molars have been removed for some sites to hurt more than others.
Dentists typically suspect dry socket when a person experiences severe pain following a tooth extraction. They can confirm the diagnosis simply by looking at the spot where your tooth used to be. In some cases, your dentist might take dental X-rays to make sure no tooth fragments were left behind.
In most cases, the pain or discomfort should have subsided after 7 to 10 days. Even though people's pain threshold and healing are different, the pain and the discomfort should decrease each day. There should be little to no pain by the time you get to five days.
– Day 2. This stage comprises 24-48 hours after the tooth extraction. By now, a clot has formed in the socket, and platelets in the socket have begun to produce chemical factors to speed up the healing process. You will notice that the swelling is starting to subside.
How long does it take to recover from a tooth extraction? It depends on the complexity of your case. However, most people feel back to normal in just a few days. While you'll be able to return to routine activities within 48 to 72 hours, it usually takes the jawbone several weeks to heal completely.
In conclusion, a toothache does not necessarily mean infection. It's important to schedule an appointment with your dentist to identify the source of the problem. Once a diagnosis has been made, your dentist can move forward with an appropriate treatment plan to get you back to a healthy and enjoyable lifestyle.
Symptoms of a dental abscess
Symptoms of an abscess in your tooth or gum may include: an intense, throbbing pain in the affected tooth or gum that may come on suddenly and gets gradually worse. pain that spreads to your ear, jaw and neck on the same side as the affected tooth or gum.
Fever. Pain that increases after extraction. Extra tooth sensitivity (hot and cold temperature) Swollen gums.