Emergency Dentist A dry socket is an unexpected complication that can happen after tooth extraction. If you're experiencing severe pain and sensitivity to cold a few days after extraction, visit an emergency dentist.
If pain worsens after a tooth extraction, contact your dentist or oral surgeon immediately for evaluation and treatment. If you don't have access to the doctor who performed the surgery, don't delay in getting emergency help from an urgent care facility or emergency department.
When you develop dry socket, it can be extremely painful. The condition is also considered a dental emergency because it interferes with your recovery from a tooth extraction.
Dry socket is not something you should be afraid of or worried about. It is a temporary condition that needs proper treatment. It is common to have queries about dry socket and its treatment. The dental team at Frank Son DDS addresses some commonly asked questions by the patients.
A dry socket is considered an emergency, and most dentists will be willing to accommodate you after hours. If your provider does not offer emergency dentistry services, a hospital or urgent care clinic should be able to provide you prescription painkillers that can control the pain until your next appointment.
Normal pain after tooth extraction subsides progressively within a week. However, dry socket pain increases every day and becomes excruciatingly painful, especially if something touches the nerve endings. Pain will not subside and becomes unbearable.
After tooth extraction, a normal socket will develop a blood clot while the wound heals. In a dry socket, the blood clot will partially or fully detach from the wound, which can worsen the pain.
Factors that can increase your risk of developing dry socket include: Smoking and tobacco use. Chemicals in cigarettes or other forms of tobacco may prevent or slow healing and contaminate the wound site. The act of sucking on a cigarette may physically dislodge the blood clot prematurely.
A dry socket occurs when the blood clot breaks down or is dislodged, exposing the bone and nerves. The first five or so days after extraction are the most critical, and it is during this time that the risk for a dry socket is the highest.
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.
Dry Socket or alveolar osteitis is a very painful condition that sometimes follows difficult tooth extractions. To give you an idea of just how painful it can be, people who have had toothache, say it is the worst pain imaginable.
Your dentist will clean the tooth socket, removing any debris from the hole, and then fill the socket with a medicated dressing or a special paste to promote healing. You'll probably have to come back to the dentist's office every few days for a dressing change until the socket starts to heal and your pain lessens.
In addition to pain, there is an unpleasant taste in the mouth that is accompanied by bad breath. Sometimes a fever, nausea, or vomiting may be present. If you can look in your mouth and see white bone in the hole where the tooth was, you have a dry socket.
If symptoms are mild, OTC painkillers may work. People should discuss the available pain relief options with their dentist. Antibiotic medication may be necessary if an infection develops in the socket and begins to spread to other areas of the mouth.
The facts about dry socket
Dry socket can occur anywhere from 2% to 5% of the time with the extraction of a tooth. Mandibular teeth are affected by this condition more often than maxillary teeth.
Lower teeth that have been removed are more likely to develop dry sockets than extracted, upper teeth. Though dry sockets can be incredibly painful to endure, they can be easily prevented.
Yes, you can take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), such as aspirin or ibuprofen to ease the discomfort of dry socket pain. Often times these over-the-counter medications aren't strong enough to relieve the pain and you'll need a doctor to prescribe a stronger drug or anesthetize the area.
The symptoms are usually worse at night, and your pain medication regimen may not help. Occasionally it is helpful to place a medicated dressing in the empty tooth socket. This will help decrease the pain and protect the socket from food particles.
According to the Canadian Dental Association, dry socket typically occurs within 3–5 days of the extraction and lasts for up to 7 days. The pain is severe and can persist for 24–72 hours. The research recommends that further investigation takes place if pain continues beyond this timeframe.
Dry socket may be caused by a range of factors, such as an underlying infection in the mouth, trauma from the tooth extraction or problems with the jawbone. The condition occurs more often with wisdom teeth in the lower jaw than with other teeth. You are also more likely than others to develop dry socket if you: smoke.
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.