Socket packing?!
Question: I had a tooth extraction Monday, and Weds I went back for check up. Apparently I was starting to get dry socket, so the dentist packed it for me. Problem is, he didn't say a word about it, and was so quick in and out that I didn't get a chance to ask.
The first day it was in, I wound up losing part of it (no more than 1/4 in.). It seems as though the rest of it has stayed in tact. If, however, the rest were to come out before I go back (Monday, to have stitches out) what should I do? He didn't tell me if I needed to leave it or remove it?
Any help would be appreciated. Dentist office is closed here today.
Answers: I had a tooth extraction Monday, and Weds I went back for check up. Apparently I was starting to get dry socket, so the dentist packed it for me. Problem is, he didn't say a word about it, and was so quick in and out that I didn't get a chance to ask.
The first day it was in, I wound up losing part of it (no more than 1/4 in.). It seems as though the rest of it has stayed in tact. If, however, the rest were to come out before I go back (Monday, to have stitches out) what should I do? He didn't tell me if I needed to leave it or remove it?
Any help would be appreciated. Dentist office is closed here today.
I had that before, and it made the whole dry socket thing a lot less painful. It gradually came out on it's own, was kind of gross looking as I recall, like what I imagine smokeless tobacco looks like, little brown shreds, but it never bothered anything and there were no issues at all with it. If your mouth starts to hurt before you get the sutures removed just give your dentist another call I copied this paragraph from the website below
Your dentist can treat your dry socket by numbing the affected area and then gently flushing it with a warm liquid solution. Your dentist will carefully pack the socket with a dressing containing antibiotic, antifungal, and pain-relieving medication. The dressing prevents food and debris from building up in the socket while it heals. Eventually, your gums absorb the dressing. Your dentist will prescribe pain-relieving medication as appropriate. Your dentist will review your progress until the socket has healed. A dry socket can take one or more weeks to heal.
Leave it alone unless it comes out on its own. Most of the time, when someone has a dry socket, we have the patient come back daily for about 3 days to remove the dressing and place a new one. Over the weekend, we have them leave it in. If it comes out on its own, that's ok, as long as it doesn't start hurting again.
A dry socket is caused by the blood clot being disturbed (usually from neg. pressure in the mouth, such as smoking, drinking through a straw, spitting, etc) When the blood clot isn't there, there's nothing to protect the underlying bone. Air and bacteria are allowed to reach the bone, causing the pain. The dressing closes the hole again, allowing the body to form the protective granulation tissue over the ext site again.
The office visit is really quick, usually the assistant packs the area, but I'm sorry that they didn't explain it to you better. Hope we've helped!