Treating Dry Socket at Home Meanwhile, you can take steps to help treat the pain of dry socket at home: Rinse with salt water twice a day. Use a cold compress on the side of your face with the dry socket. Stay hydrated to prevent side-effects of pain medication such as nausea.
We recommend a gentle salt water rinse to clean the area that is healing and prevent food from getting caught. The salt water promotes healing and reduces the risk of complications. Be careful to use gentle swishing motions. Too much force while swishing the salt water could irritate and possibly lead to a dry socket.
Rinse your mouth gently with warm salt water several times a day. Brush your teeth gently around the dry socket area. Be careful with eating or drinking. To prevent the clot from coming out, avoid carbonated beverages and do not use a straw.
Create a cold compress: Press a cold towel against your cheeks to soothe the pain. Drink tea: Drink anti-inflammatory tea to reduce inflammation throughout your body. Apply essential oils: Rub a small amount of essential oil, such as tea tree oil, over your dry socket.
With proper care, a dry socket usually heals in seven to 10 days. In that time, new tissue grows and covers the exposed socket. Regular brushing and flossing during this time helps keep your mouth healthy and reduces your risk of infection. People who've had dry sockets in the past are more likely to get them again.
Flushing out the socket: Flushing out the socket can remove any food particles or other debris that may contribute to pain or possible infection. Medicated dressings: Your dentist or oral surgeon may pack the socket with medicated gel or paste and medicated dressings. These can provide relatively fast pain relief.
A dry socket usually lasts seven days. However, pain can be felt as early as the third day after the extraction. A blood clot forms at the tooth extraction site to heal and protect it. However, the clot either dislodges, dissolves too quickly, or never forms with dry sockets.
The Options of Treatment
Vessal G et al., [16] and Bezerra TP et al., [17] studied the use of antibiotics in the management of dry socket, and they reported that the most commonly used antibiotics is amoxicillin.
Intense pain happens when the underlying bone and nerves are exposed. Pain occurs in the socket and along the nerves to the side of the face. The socket becomes swollen and irritated. It may fill with bits of food, making the pain worse.
Platelets in the blood clump together to form a clot, which protects the wound by sealing it. If this clot disintegrates, becomes dislodged, or does not form, the empty tooth socket is unprotected. This increases the risk of intense pain due to the exposed nerves in the socket.
Many dentists pack a dry socket with eugenol based medications that help decrease the pain temporarily. However, the packing process itself can irritate the dry socket and may slow healing.
Choosing foods and beverages carefully: People should avoid anything that will irritate the dry socket, including spicy or acidic foods and carbonated drinks. Applying a hot or cold compress. People can place a hot or cold pack against their face to reduce swelling and pain in the area.
DO's: Use gauze, rest and elevate your head, take prescribed medications, use ice packs, eat soft foods for the first 24-48 hours. DON'Ts: Avoid smoking, using straws, spitting, rinsing your mouth, blowing your nose or sneezing, probing the extraction site with your tongue.
Dry socket typically heals within 7-10 days. After this time, new tissue has been able to cover the visible bone and the wound has begun to heal. For patients with thin alveolar bone, such as those with periodontal disease, healing may take longer.
Excessive Bleeding. If you notice your medicated dressing repeatedly (and increasingly) becoming soaked with blood, you might have a dry socket. Patients with particular prescriptions should ensure there's no risk for poor blood clotting to prevent dry socket problems.
Once a blood clot has formed at the site of a tooth extraction, bleeding stops and the mouth can begin to heal. However, if the blood clot becomes dislodged, it may lead to both excessive bleeding and a painful condition called dry socket.
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.
Dry socket typically requires a return trip to a dentist where the wound is thoroughly cleaned and sometimes a dressing is applied. Once this initial stage is complete, your dentist may also treat dry socket with a course of antibiotics to help cure any infection.
Yogurt, pudding, applesauce and Jell-O are some go-to recovery foods: no chewing involved! Stick to these post-extraction staples for the first 24 hours after your surgery before moving on to soft foods that require chewing.
Honey is full of antibacterial and healing properties. It can help to soothe your wound and reduce the pain that you're experiencing. To use honey, soak a cotton ball or gauze in it and then apply it to your dry socket. You can leave the gauze on for several hours but be sure to check on it every now and then.
When the blood clot from the extraction site falls out prematurely (within the first 4 days after surgery), dry socket causes extreme pain that may radiate to the jaw, face, and ear. It also causes bad breath. The highest risk for this condition is between days 2-3 after tooth extraction.
When Can I Stop Worrying About Dry Socket? Until the full recovery of your extraction site, a dry socket can form if you fail to follow the care tips. Usually, a week (7-8 days) after wisdom tooth extraction, you can stop worrying about a dry socket as gums take this much time to close fully.