Tooth extraction: how long to stop hurting?!

Question: Tooth extraction: how long to stop hurting?

On Tuesday my upper right back tooth (one of my molars) broke right down the middle to the root. I managed to get an emergency dental appointment and the dentist removed the tooth as there was no way to save it. When he was removing it, it kept breaking and had to be removed in 4 pieces. The root of the tooth had fused onto the bone so when the tooth was pulled out, part of the bone came with it. This was agony and the pain was so bad I was left shaking and crying in the surgery. This wasn't the dentist's fault, the tooth was simply very awkward to remove. It is now saturday evening and i'm still in a fair bit of pain. I'm taking co-codamol at night so i can sleep through the pain and during the day I'm alternating ibuprofen and paracetamol. I'm using mouthwash and brushing my teeth very carefully!! The wound has stopped bleeding but there is an odd bitter taste coming from there. Is this normal and how much longer do you think this pain will last?

Answers:

Hi.
Firstly, it WAS the dentists fault, no extraction should ever hurt that much if anaesthetic is properly applied especially a single molar extraction. I suggest you find a more gentle/ caring dentist (sorry!)

Secondly yeh it sounds traumatic, occasionally difficult extractions cause pain afterwards because they develop into dry sockets. These are basically sockets where the blood clot does not properly form and are hence filled with bacteria. Dry sockets cause pain, and what makes me think you might have it is that you have a bitter taste, probably due to the food/ bacteria building up in the socket.

Also just to bare in mind dry sockets are more common in women taking oral contraceptives and during extraction of lower molar teeth (as opposed to uppers)

What I suggest is that you go to a dentist asap for them to have a look. They will clean it for you and may apply a gel to promote healing. Don't worry too much because dry sockets do naturally heal over time, and yes it is perfectly normal.

As with all conditions it's impossible to be sure it IS a dry socket without examination so do try and get it checked out. Youre doing the the right things with the mouthwashes and painkillers though, gargling salt water may also help :)

Dental student

It seems your extraction may have been a little misguided or mishandled. If a odor or foul taste exist after several days even once the hemorrhagingg has stop it may be a infection or a fragment has been overlooked and remained within the extraction point. You may want to consider another emergency appointment for pain management and reevaluation.

It sounds like it was a difficult extraction, and may take longer to heal.
follow the post op procedures, and you may want to rinse with a little water and salt. Just swoosh it around, and let it fall out of your mouth. It is possible you may need to take some antibiotics, if the pain persists still in full force call the Dentist.

I was already booked for a tooth surgery due to severe pain in my wisdom teeth. I was afraid of surgery, I 've always been. So I decided to find another way to cure myself, so I found a natural way not involving needles.I used the toothache 12 hour cure. And my pain is long gone now.

http://bit.ly/12HToothAcheCure

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Tooth extraction: how long to stop hurting?!

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