Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Wisdom tooth extraction and dry socket?

Hi,

I had my No. 1 tooth pulled on Wednesday morning. It had a bad cavity for a long time and had started bothering me again.

I had just novicaine and the pulling itself went pretty easy. There was a slight tear in my pallett, which along with the hole in my gums was repaired with three dissolving sitches. I went back on Friday (48 hours) for a follow up appointment and the doctor said everything was pink and healing nicely, he trimmed the end of the sutures and said to call if I had any problems or other questions.

I was proscribed amoxicilin, percocets and ibuprofen.
I am a smoker, but didn't smoke for the first two days, until I saw my doctor. After that, I had half of a cigarette (around the 50 hour mark), but haven't smoked since. Initially, I had some bleeding issues, because it took the entire first night for it to stop bleeding, but since then its been OK. I haven't been eating vigorously, after the first 24 hours, I started rinsing with a sea salt/water mixture after anything entered my mouth other than water.

Now that it has been almost 80 hours since I had the tooth pulled (3 1/2 days), I'm nervous because the gums are still really tender around the socket and I'm quite terrified of getting dry socket.

I guess my question is two-fold. 1. What is the time-frame for developing dry socket? 2. Are there cases of dry socket where the pain is dull and not excruciating like most people report?
3 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Well it certainly got worse before it got better, but thank you all for your responses.

The day after I posted, I woke up to a very slimy mouth and what felt like a sinus infection. I couldn't even get my toothbrush in my mouth without throwing up. (You have to love dental issues on holiday weekends)

I called my surgeon and made an appointment for the next day.

He told me exactly what the second response said about bone attachement to the top of my tooth.

When I went in to see him he pretty much confirmed, I have a communication between my mouth and my sinus.

So basically, more antibiotics, more water, saline nasal spray, sudafed and more motrin. Fun, fun.

Thanks again everyone.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Time frame is variable but usually sooner than later.  Dry socket is usually very painful some patients say it hurts more than the toothache that caused them to get the tooth pulled.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
#1 is not a common area for a dry socket. It sounds like the tooth was "ankylosed" or "stuck" to the bone somewhat, or some palatal tissue tore with the extraction of the tooth. 3 1/2 days is NOT that long, especially considering you required sutures and some palatal tissue got torn away. If you are anxious about it, there is nothing wrong with letting your dentist look at it again, but if he said it's healing well, it does not sound to me like a dry socket. Your situation (considering the tear) may take longer than the usual 4-7 days to start feeling like it's healing well.
Helpful - 0

You are reading content posted in the Dental Health Forum

Popular Resources
If you suffer from frequent headaches, jaw clicking and popping ear pain, you may have TMJ. Top dentist Hamidreza Nassery, DMD, has the best TMJ treatments for you.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.