Dental Dry Socket Symptoms & Treatment
What is dry socket, what are some typical symptoms, and what factors frequently lead to it? Your choices for treatment are covered in this dental emergency .
Describe dry socket.
A painful but manageable dental emergency known as dry socket can occur after a tooth extraction. A dentist must provide follow-up care for this problem.
Why do dry sockets happen?
While your mouth recovers from tooth extraction, a blood clot forms above the extraction site.
However, dry socket (also known as alveolar osteitis) develops when the nerve behind your gum is exposed to bacteria, food particles, fluid, and air if the blood clot becomes dislodged or never forms properly. Your chance of developing dry socket can also be increased by excessive spitting, extensive rinsing, or drinking via a straw. Thankfully, it is a rare condition.
Additionally, some people may be more susceptible to getting a dry socket after having a tooth pulled.
This encompasses those who:
Follows bad oral hygiene
Have wisdom teeth removed
Smoke
Use contraceptives.
Experience greater trauma than usual while having a tooth removed
Possess a history of dry socket following tooth removal
What symptoms of dry socket are typical?
When a dry socket does develop, it normally does so 2 to 5 days following an extraction and has the potential to cause infection as well as excruciating pain that can last up to 6 days. Some signs of a dry socket include:
A dull, throbbing, or acute pain at the location of the extraction that may intensify and radiate to the ear
Poor breath
Undesirable taste or odor in your tongue
Aperture at the excavation location that appears dry
Instead of a dark blood clot where a tooth was taken, there is whitish bone.
How to Recognize a Dry Socket
It’s important to contact a dentist as soon as you can because the symptoms mentioned above can signify a few dental emergencies. This will allow the problem to be properly identified and treated.
After examining your mouth, our Edmonton dentists will be able to pinpoint the issue and suggest potential solutions.
At emergency dental clinics, dry socket therapy is provided
You may want to think about using over-the-counter ibuprofen to reduce any pain or discomfort. However, there are situations when over-the-counter painkillers might not be effective, in which case your dentist might prescribe prescription.
The tooth socket will be cleaned during your consultation with the dentist at Emergency Dental Clinics, and any debris in the hole will be taken out.
The dentist will then fill the socket and promote healing using a specific paste or a medicated dressing. As the socket starts to heal and the pain subsides, you’ll probably need to go back to the dentist for a dressing adjustment.
Antibiotics may also be prescribed to you in order to avoid infection. The dentist can also advise using a specific mouthwash or salt water to rinse your mouth out every day at home.
How to Avoid Dry Socket
It is advised to refrain from smoking for one or more days following surgery because it is a common cause of the development of dry sockets.
Your dentist might have to do the extraction on a day when you are taking the smallest dose of estrogen because the hormone can interfere with blood’s ability to clot.
For the first several days after your tooth extraction procedure, refrain from spitting or drinking through a straw. Additionally, only rinse your mouth as often as your dentist advises, and if you do, rinse gently. Visit your dentist for any necessary follow-up appointments.
