Chronic dry socket?

[lkehres0519]

Four weeks ago I had 3 teeth extracted, then my NIGHTMARE began.  About 4 days later an intense throbbing started in my lower jaw.  I went back to the oral surgeon but had to see someone else due to the fact that my surgeon was unavailable.  I was dx with TMJ and sent home with instructions to buy a heating pad.  I cried all weekend due to the pain and then had what felt like an earache.  I went back the following Monday and was then dx with 2 dry sockets.  For the next 3 days they were packed however each time I had to be numbed because I could not tolerate the procedure without doing so.  After three days the packings were taken out.  It relieved the pain on the right side of  my jaw however the intense throbbing returned on the lower left side.  Everytime I bent over it felt as thought the top of the hole were going to blow!  You could feel the throbbing in my jaw with your fingers.  I returned to the surgeon who took an Xray and found a filling fragment in the socket.  He then scraped the socket and re-started the bleeding process.  Two days later I returned with the same intense jaw and ear pain.  Again, he repacked the site for the following 3 days (more injections) however this time even the packing was not entirely relieving the throbbing.  The surgeon claimed he didn't know why I would still would be having pain and he had never (in his 20yrs of dentistry as he stated) seen someone like me.  I wept in his office and begged him to find a reason or source for the continuing debhilitating pain.  (Sometimes I think he thought I was just there for the meds)  He advised me it would "just take time".  The following day I decided to see another surgeon who informed me that I had a chronic dry socket.  He advised another packing.  So on Weds I received my 12th injection in my jaw and my 3rd round of packing to this site.  Thurs. morning I awoke to find that the entire packing had fallen out while I was sleeping!  I cannot take this much longer.  I am a full time nursing student and single mother to a 4yr old.  I am at my wits end.  I haven't had a solid meal in almost 4 weeks now and literally cry when I watch other people enjoying their dinners.  My jaw is almost as sore as the socket from all the numbing injections.  When will this end?    

[scottma]

Dry socket almost alwalys occurs in the posterior manibular region.Your presentation is indeed extremely rare.The way I manage dry socket is thorough curettage of socket and packing with collagen(colla-plug) with sutures to close the wound. My first choice of antibiotics is amoxicillin+metronidazole. If the pain does'nt wane off within 3 days, I would switch to clindamycin+ metronidazole. In my20+ years of practice, this regimen has been successful. However, if you don't respond the regimen, I would switch to clarithromycin+metronidazole. If the last regimen is still not working, I would use vancomycin.If antibiotics is properly administered, dental infections generally subsides within 3 days. PLease go back to your surgeon addressing the issue.

[raquel414]

hey, im very sorry your going through this, i could identify with your pain, and agony. im a single mom of a 10yr. old, and just had my lower right wisdom tooth pulled on march 17th, and i too, have dry socket. when you said you cry when you watch other people enjoying their dinners, it made me cry, because i feel the same way. i went to a dentist, who i beleive should have never performed the extraction on me.( this guy was literally hanging on my head to get the tooth out ! )before he got the tooth out, i remember hearing a loud cracking noise! he ended up having to stich up the area,  my second day home, i was in pure agony.having taken a sleeping pill, i was able to fall asleep, only to wake up w/ a disgusting taste in my mouth, and a gross white film on my 2 front teeth, and ovcourse, the throbbing!! i felt like my ear was going to explode, and God forbid, leave me deaf in that ear, my jaw felt as if someone had broken it, and  vicodin 750mg. couldnt even get close to taking the pain away the least bit.i was sooo sick that day, all i could do was lay in bed, and drag myself to the bathroom, or kitchen to get something to drink, , everything tasted off, juice etc. the very next day, i asked God to give me the strength to call the dentist (a wednesday) , and they were closed!! and no emergency phone # ! i called another dentist, but they said i needed to return to the original dentist i saw, because another dentist doesnt want to "deal" w/ another dentist complications... ! so, i had to wait till' the next day.,  the 4th day, i went back to this guy sobbing in agony, and he looked at me like i was over reacting ! when he had to  look in my mouth,   he simply said,'open please', and next thing i knew, he was coming at me w/ surgical scissors, clipping, then ripping the stitches out!!!  DIDNT WARN ME, NOTHING. he then placed a piece of gauze SOAKED in clove tasting solution that made me gag, i too, had not eaten, and was very nauseas .(i had to bite down on that for 60min.) that was on march20th. that weekend i suffered in agony, YES, A NIGHTMARE, i have NEVER  felt pain like this before in my life. this past monday the 24th, i had gone back, in agony looking for an answer. all he could say, was that this was an "extreme" case of dry socket, , and i quote ,"  for whatever reason"...! and then told me i would need to come in everyday for dry socket paste, all last week. and i did.(it  helped releive some of the throbbing the first time, but the second day, i could still feel the imense throbbing with the dry socket paste &gauze in place) as the swelling went down a little, i could feel that the tooth that is directlly infront of the extraction site was very very sore, i thought, maybe even loose or chipped? this tooth has a filling in it. so he tapped on it w/ a metal tool, and the pain shot down into my jaw. he took an x-ray, and said it looked "fine". i went home in agony,like i said,  even with the dry socket paste in, the socket was still throbbing, and my throat, very sore. i followed all directions, i dont smoke,i did the salt water rinses, i finished all my antibiotics, and now i sit here, two weeks later w/ my right gland very swollen, and my ear still hurting, and the socket throbbing here and there. on my last visit last friday, i said to the dentist, "if i finished all my antibiotics, why are my glands still swollen?', and he said ,"if you want, i could open the socket up, and let the fresh blood clot". i said, no way!  first off, if i didnt "clot" the first time, why would i clot now? i am also taking birth control pills, which i researced after, makes you 2x more likely to develop a dry socket...! before the dentist even performed the extraction, he should have informed me of this, which he did not. he didnt go over my medical history form that i filled out, nor did he take the time to examine my whole mouth before the extraction. i was unaware of such complications w/ having a wisdom tooth extracted. i was also diagnosed w/ tmj by this dentist.AFTERWARDS. i am horrified, and disgusted w/ this whole experiance. i am still in pain, and very depressed. not being able to eat , and as you said, enjoy a meal. i just wanted to let you know you are not alone, and reading your horror story has made me realize i too, am not alone, this happens to other people, and dentist could be very uncompassionate. i will not return to this dentist ever again. my bite feels off, and i beleive i might have nerve damage to the tooth that was directly infront of the extraction site. i will have to wait untill this dry socket heals to make  appoit. w/ another dentist to have my teeth examined. untill then, im left to wonder..and suffer in pain, and mal-nutrition.and i too cannot get a straight answer from anyone as to how long i will be in agony.i wish you the best of luck, and things turn out ok for you.....if ya want, write back, and let me know how things are going..i know it helps to talk to someone who has gone through the same thing , nobody i know has ever had this happen, so , its very difficult for people to understand me......i feel very alone in this traumatizing experiance....

[lkehres0519]

Thank you so much for sharing your story. Although unfortunate, it is nice to know I am not alone and this has happened to someone else.  After the last packing fell out I decided to try and let the socket heal over the weekend (I also could not imagine anymore injections if the packings were going to fall out anyway) and I am happy to report that now finally after 5 weeks post extraction the throbbing pain has gone away! The extraction site itself is still a little sore around the gum but no ear or jaw pain.  I hope your recovery time is shorter than mine.  As for the dentist who performed the procedure I would never return to him.  He too spent no time going over my medical history and when I started to research the topic of birth control I too saw the complications it can have with the clotting factor. I have been on birth control consecutively for 2 1/2 yrs (with no periods) due to the fact that I have horrible menstrual migraines.  When I came in to him prepared to discuss (since he was unaware of this issue) the only words I were able to mutter were "Should I stop taking my birth control?"
He simply said "no".  He didn't give me time to explain that I could have stopped taking them since my fiance has had a vasectomy and they were not used for contraception purposes.  I would have dealt with a migraine to make the pain stop if it would have.  Here I was, the patient, researching at home on the internet why I am still having pain when a doctor throws his arms up in the air at me in disbelief!  Also, I was never at any time given any antibiotic during my ordeal.  The second surgeon's bedside manner was much more pleasant and even though I was still having problems he at least took the time to listen to my medical hx and didn't treat me as though I was some junkie looking for meds....
I was taking 10mg of percocet every 4-6 hours and 800mg of advil every 8hrs and sometimes that would not completely take the pain away. It would allow me to get through my classes at school and function at home with my 4yr old on a tolerable level.  So I can imagine that your vicoden is not sufficient.  I am now off all meds.  I guess we are "exceptions" when it comes to the norm for this procedure but I wish more Dr's would read these posts and possibly learn something from our experiences. Again thank you for taking the time to write.  Let me know how you are doing if you'd like....

[raquel414]

hi! i am so glad to hear you are feeling better ! you dont have to thank me for writing!  your story helped me too. i was so upset w/ the dentist, and felt totally alone. i was so angry when i researced the clotting issue w/ birth control , and how the dentist neglected to inform me of the complications before the extraction. i beleive that he didn't care about me, or my well being, he just wanted the $ from the insurance co. i've heard the horror stories about doctors before, and things going wrong, but you never think it could happen to you. especially by a dentist!!! i still can't explain the severity of the pain, and discomfort to not one person whom i am close to.  it's very frustrating. so i too, am releived to know that there is a person out there who knows first hand how scary this is. i  completely understand what you mean when you said that the surgeon threw his arms up in disbeleif after you had informed him how you did some research....the "butcher" of a dentist i went to, was rolling his eyes at me, then looked back at his dental assistant to shake his head , as if he were annoyed!!! and here i am, in great pain, crying, asking him, "why he didnt tell me about the  complications  with birth control and having a tooth extracted?". all he could reply back was,"the antibiotics dont work well w/ the birth control". im sitting there, in sheer disbeleif and shock of his answer, thinking to myself, "doesnt he mean to say," the antibiotics decrease the effectivness of the birth control?". and is he that sick,that insane of a person, that he really thinks that im doing  anything of that nature w/ my boyfriend at a time when i feel