Dry Socket or What?

Question

It's been 8 days since 2 extractions... I went to the dentist after 4 days, he told me it was healing ok. The pain is always there and is no better. There is a hole in this extraction site, with something white or brownish in the bottom of it. I called the dentist back and he just tells me this is normal. Is it? I am also diabetic (insulin dependent). What can I do? The dentist won't see me. The pain is awful...HELP PLEASE

When I saw the dentist after 4 days.. there was something in the hole that came out the next day as I was rinsing with warm salt water. It was hard and sharp, maybe tooth or bone. The pain is not any better and have somtimes have severe in my ear on this same side. I have checked for food or whatever but it is just an empty hole.

Answer 1

See another dentist. Call another oral surgeon or dentist for an EMERGENCY appointment. www.switchboard.com is an online phone book and you can look for a good dentist in your town.

Answer 2

sounds like dry sockets. what could have emerged was the blood clot or at worse case a part of the bone he didn't remove. i would get to another dentist right away. if none are available and you have someone that can drive you to a health food type store - go get oil of clove. it tastes horrible but -when a drop or too it put into the socket it releaves the pain. you can drink a ginger ale after and it blends the flavors and then it's not so bad.

the rason for the pain in the ear is because dependingon the tooth, the extraction could have been near your sinus passages. this is "normal" but not something you should be having after 4 days. this IMHO means it's getting worse NOT better. that type of pain is NOT normal and your dentist should be shackled!! i can't believe he's putting you off. mine actually yelled at me for not calling him on the after hours line that it was an emergency - i just didn't want to bother him at home with his kids - he really yelled at me!!!

once it's better do stay with soft foods and such - mashed potatoes and pasta and stay away from acidic foods (red sauces, etc). do NOT swich anything near the opening - lightly hold the rinse material (water or water with a little salt) over the area and let it linger then just let it ooze from your mouth - the sucking/spitting action can release a clot.

edit- a gal i work with had pain for a good 6 days after her wisdom teeth were extracted. since it wasn't the over the top i'm going to ram my head into a wall pain i told her i didn't know that it couldn't be dry sockets that long. she went to the dentist and low and behold - it was!!

Answer 3

The pain should be getting less. If it is still throbbing pain you probably have a dry socket. Just call them and tell them you are in excrutiating pain. Being diabetic would make you more susceptible to this. They may only need to give you antibiotics or you can buy oil of clove at the health food store and place some drops in the extraction holes. It burns but heals and numbs it afterward. This is what many dentists now use for dry sockets.

Answer 4

Because of your health problems, healing does take longer. You can take extra vitamin C to help boost healing. I'm not sure the pain medication you are taking, but if possible use 4 tablets of Ibuprofen every 8 hours. That is equal to a prescription level. Just don't take on an empty stomach. I don't think it is a dry socket at this late date and he checked it 4 days ago saying it was healing. I hope you fee better soon. Have you called the dentist too many times about pain medication? They sometimes get nervous about represcribing that if its too much to often.

Answer 5

When to see the doctor? The test is: is it getting better, staying the same, or getting worse? If it's getting better, even just a little bit day to day, no action is needed. If it's staying the same, you should try the home remedies of warm salt water soaks, tylenol/advil, soft foods, etc. If, after you do those things, it's NOT improving from day to day, you need to be seen by a doctor/dentist. You can apply the same logic to virtually any medical condition/injury.

Answer 6

HELLO,
IF YOU DID SEE THE DENTIST AND HE SAID IT WAS HEALING NORMALLY, THEN IT ISN'T A DRY SOCKET.
YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN SOME FOOD STUCK INTO THE HEALING SOCKET.
SWISHING WITH WARM SALT WATER WILL HELP.
DIABETICS TAKE LONGER TO HEAL AFTER EXTRACTIONS.
IF YOU HAD DRY SOCKET THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN 24-48 HOURS AFTER THE EXTRACTION. THE PAIN WOULD BE EXCRUCIATING AND WOULD ALSO HAVE A FOUL ODOR WITH IT.

Answer 7

To deal with the dentist:
Call him up and tell him your concerns and how much it hurts. Place a lot of emphasis on how much pain you are feeling, that might convince him to see you. You could also just show up and politely ask to see him immediatly.

If that fails, get a new dentist.