Although I am asking for advice, my story may help answer others questions with similar experiences.
This is a complicated situation, unfortunately.
I have done lots of research on the internet, and read lots of advice & other stories, etc. I am giving very detailed descriptions, with my timeline. Please read my entire story & give me any direct advice, help & similar stories & experiences w/ timelines...
So, 14 days ago I went into a local dentist to have a tooth extracted. It is my upper left 1st Molar. It was a very unexpected "complicated" extraction for the dentist, and took over 2 hours with a lot of pain & seemingly ineffective shots of numb medicine. When he was finally finished the tooth had came out in about 15 - 20 small pieces, and alot of damage was done to my tissue during the procedure. I do feel the dentist is very qualified & did his best, it just was a very stubborn tooth that was connected to my jawbone pretty tight. The final piece was quite the snap! He did a final check for any loose fragments, and put the guaze in my mouth & sent me home to heal w/ pain killers. I swelled up the next 3 days like a chipmunk! On the 5th day I was still in quite a bit of pain, and swelling was still present, so I went in for a check up with him. At this point he said it looked very good, much better than he expected, and decided to remove the stitches. His attitude with my overall healing process was great, and made me feel much better. Over the next 7 days (days 5 - 12)I felt better each day, swelling was almost gone, still sore but nothing a motrin wouldn't take care of. So then yesterday (day 13) I woke up and could feel a little bit of bone poking out the side of the extraction site. I called the dentist & he said it could just be a bit of tooth fragment or even bone that has dislodged, and it is common. He said I should come in and he will take a look & maybe pull it out. So I went in, and when he started looking in my mouth, he said "oh no!" ... uh oh! He said that I obviously have developed severe dry socket, and he needed to clean out the site before he could even start to investigate the bone or tooth fragment that I could feel. That was sooo painful, quick though. He basically rinsed out my socket with a cleansing fluid using a syringe, spraying it inside and flushing out the socket. He said at this point he could just see a lot of exposed bone, and was surprised I hadn't been in more pain the last few days. He then started poking around and did find a fairly large piece of tooth (or bone, not sure) loose inside the extraction site. It was kind of inside the side wall, but he managed to wiggle it loose and got it out. This immediately caused some moderate bleeding, so he flushed it out again (ouch!) and put some gauze in. This was done without any numb shots or anything. He explained my dry socket situation to me, and basically said that it will heal on its own, to make sure I swish with warm salt water & keep my mouth clean, and the only thing he can do to help is for the pain. Since I am not in unbearable pain, he just recommends that I stick to Motrin or Tylenol, which is working fine for my pain.
So I drove home & immediately went to the bathroom to change the gauze in my mouth, as it was pretty bloody. When I was swapping it out for a clean one, I felt the area with my tongue & the piece I went in for I could still feel! Felt it right in the same spot! So I called him, and he had me come right back. This time he immediately gave me several shots of numb medicine (provocaine) because i was in some discomfort and he needed to really investigate. So I got numb & he checked it all out & said what I am feeling with my tounge is actually part of my bone, and it is not loose at all. I can verify this, he was poking and pulling at it and it was not going anywhere, so I doubt it is tooth. He said it is because of the Dry Socket, and that this is the bone exposed because my gums have kinda folded back, with delay of healing as well. I expressed my concern with having this bone exposed, and he said it will heal over it in the next few weeks, as the entire socket heals. So that was last night. Today I am in some moderate discomfort, but generally feel o.k, well besides the big hole in my mouth & the annoying bone poking out that my tongue will not leave alone. After reading other stories I guess sometimes a dentist will go in and clip or grind down this exposed piece of bone, to get it under the gumline & begin healing under it. My Dentist assured me that the gums will heal over it eventually, but I still have concern.
This is really my question. Can someone re-assure me that my gum will eventually grow back over this pointy bone poking out, or maybe recommend that it does need to get clipped or grinded down in order to heal fully. Again, this is part of my jaw, and not a tooth fragment left behind. The dentist wants me to come back for a check up in 2 weeks, so if its not covered by then I will surely bring it to his attention.
What a bummer of a situation, if I was on track, I would be eating regularly again... oh well, atleast I love mash potatoes!
Any help, reassurance, & similar stories is much appreciated, my mind is spinning....
Many Blessings to All you who took the time to read my situation, Thank You.
Jay