Post Wisdom Teeth Extraction Pain

[hennahenna]

I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed 5 days ago, on Monday. Throughout this experience, the lower left area has hurt much worse than the other three. As of now, it is the only place that still hurts. It is a horrible, throbbing pain. I considered that I might have a dry socket, but after I've thought about this more and really looked at the area, I'm wondering what the problem might be. The pain is constant, but there are some times when it is tolerable, and others when it is not. That is the first thing that I thought would count against this being a dry socket. Secondly, the swelling in my face, which was really quite bad, has almost completely subsided. There is also no foul odor and no bad taste. I've followed all the post-op instructions to a T. What I noticed, is that on my cheek, on the side of where the removal was, there is a circular grey spot. The gum/tissue around it is slightly red and inflamed. It looks just like a canker sore. Then below this spot, somewhat along side it, between where the tooth was removed, and the molar in front of that, there is a very small dented area which is black. That is all I can see. What could this be? Will it heal on it's own, or do I need to see the dentist? From what I've seen, in comparison to the right side, the area where the tooth was removed is healing well, the stitches on the left side are completely dissolved (or at least, I can't see them), while the stitches on the right aren't even dissolved yet. Since I've taken a really good look at the area, I can tell that most of the pain I'm having is isolated to this one spot. Applying ice seems to really relieve the pain, but pain medication does not help at all. The problem is just that the pain from this area is so bad, it spreads over the entire left side of my face, it is excruciating. It goes away and comes back. I want to go to the dentist to have this checked out, but if it is something that will heal on its own, I can wait till my post-op appt next week.

[jumpy1023]

My brother in-law is currently in the hospital after massive dental work in TJ.
He has had 4 implants, reconstruction; 3 extractions and 4 root canals, all in less than 6 weeks.  One of the extractions was abscessed which they addressed with antibiotics.
After two days of involuntary movement, unconsciousness, 104 fever, chills and vomiting; they diagnosesed him with meningitis.  They also addressed with a massive dose of antibiotics.  He is slowly coming back to us, but now his wife is telling us that the doctors are saying this is "multi-location infection".  What is this?  Are the symptoms typical for this diagnosis?  Is this meningitis or not?  I have never heard of this second diagnoses, what does it mean and what are the causes, symptoms and treatment.
Thank you in advance,
worried sick

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

It should be okay for now.... Just keep an eye on it.  It will take time to heal, up to several months to completely heal.  But the pain and discomfort should go away much sooner than that

[hennahenna]

It is on Tuesday. What I just noticed is that the area I thought was a canker sore is a hole. It seems like it has still been feeling better, but I've also been noticing the hole getting bigger. It is only on the lower left tooth. It isn't directly where the tooth was removed, it is on the side of it. I don't know if that is normal or not.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

When is your post op appointment exactly?  It sounds like its healing normally but the extraction may have been more traumatic in that particular area and hence still sore and uncomfortable.  I actually had one of my wisdom teeth give me some pain and soreness for about a month but it wasn't as excruciating as yours is at this moment.  I would keep an eye on it and try to keep the area clean by gently rinsing the area.  Redness isn't necessarily a bad thing, it could just meet its healing and inflamed