I am worried about my tooth extraction.?!
Question: I had my back tooth pulled out yesterday, I needed a root canal but couldn't afford it and I had my wisdom teeth cut out a few years ago - so I decided it probably wouldn't affect the other teeth too much. However, I've been very worried about a dry socket. I was very careful and I don't smoke. Every time I go to the bathroom I take a flashlight and look at the hole, everything seems normal - however my breath has been mildly bad and I've had a bad taste in my mouth. So - since it's been 24 hours I did a salt/water rinse. I may have not gotten the water warm enough - but as soon as the water touched me it hurt - almost like it did when it was sensitive - and now when I look at the area it looks white - it doesn't look like a hole - it looks white around where the clot is supposed to be - and I'm pretty sure I didn't knock out the clot because I didn't have any more bleeding after my first hour or so - does it seem like I may have a dry socket anyways?
Answers: I had my back tooth pulled out yesterday, I needed a root canal but couldn't afford it and I had my wisdom teeth cut out a few years ago - so I decided it probably wouldn't affect the other teeth too much. However, I've been very worried about a dry socket. I was very careful and I don't smoke. Every time I go to the bathroom I take a flashlight and look at the hole, everything seems normal - however my breath has been mildly bad and I've had a bad taste in my mouth. So - since it's been 24 hours I did a salt/water rinse. I may have not gotten the water warm enough - but as soon as the water touched me it hurt - almost like it did when it was sensitive - and now when I look at the area it looks white - it doesn't look like a hole - it looks white around where the clot is supposed to be - and I'm pretty sure I didn't knock out the clot because I didn't have any more bleeding after my first hour or so - does it seem like I may have a dry socket anyways?
The majority of dry sockets occur in lower molar extractions. The white area is almost certainly the fibrin clot. After 24 hours you're safe to rinse. Salt water--1/2 tsp. to 8 oz. water. Temperature not critical, but not too hot!
It sounds to me like you're doing fine.
Steve Bornfeld, DDS
I had dry socket after I had both my bottom wisdom teeth pulled a few years ago. The pain actually took a couple of days to start. And it was HORRIBLE.
But I dislodged my clots about 2 hours after getting home. I wasn't sick from the anaesthesia so they sent me home. I was perfectly fine - then out of nowhere I threw up. Of course everything started bleeding again - and probably explains why I ended up with dry socket.
If you didn't do anything to make the holes bleed again, then you will likely not end up with dry socket!
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