Tooth extraction avoiding a dry socket blo

 

Many people have one or more adult teeth extracted during their lifetime. Having a tooth extracted is not something most people look forward to.  Many people are apprehensive before going in for the oral surgery procedure of having a tooth extracted or possibly, having more than one tooth extracted.  We discuss several common oral surgery questions in this local tooth extraction blog.

Tooth extraction

  • What is a Tooth Extraction?
  • Who can perform a Tooth Extraction?
  • Is it painful having a Tooth Extracted?

Tooth extraction or the removal of a tooth from the mouth is considered an oral surgery procedure that either a general dentist, oral surgeon or a periodontist will do.  For complicated impacted wisdom teeth (referred to as third molars by dentists), usually, an oral surgeon will perform or do that type of oral surgery.  Though, many general dentists do provide dental extraction services.  An oral surgeon has usually 3, 4, or more years of dental specialty training after dental school. Oral surgeons specialize in wisdom teeth extractions, oral cancer treatment, oral and maxillofacial injuries treatment. 

 

The area where the tooth extraction is being done or possibly the side of the mouth if on the lower teeth will be numbed.  On top teeth or maxillary teeth, usually, local anesthesia where the tooth is being extracted is used.  For lower or mandibular teeth, usually one side of the mouth is numbed.  Most people will feel half their tongue feeling numb.  For complicated wisdom teeth extractions, a specialist may put the patient under or to twilight sleep.  For simple extractions, this is usually not done.  Each tooth extraction surgery is different.  Some times the tooth will come out easily, and other times it will be very hard to pull a tooth out.  Worse yet, occasionally a root tip may break when extracting a tooth.  With today's dental technology and advanced tooth imaging machines, dentists can properly plan for local tooth extractions.  Most times, the patient will feel some pulling or tugging when having a tooth extracted - but should be having little to no pain when having a tooth extracted.

Dry socket question we get asked, is why does a dry socket happen after having a tooth pulled out?

It is estimated that about 5% of people may develop a dry socket problem after having a tooth extracted. A common dental question we get asked is, why do dry socket problems occur after a tooth extraction?  The medical term for a dry socket as alveolar osteitis.  Under normal conditions, after a tooth is extracted - it will fill up with a blood clot.  That blood clot is important, so as to not expose the nerves inside of the socket.  If the blood clot is lost or does not form after a tooth extraction, well then you have a dry socket problem.

Things to watch for to see if have a dry socket

1. There is no clot or the hole in the tooth is exposed.

2. After a couple of days still, have a lot of pain in the extracted tooth socket area.

3. It is important to Not dislodge the clot that is forming in the socket area.  That is, do Not want to do anything that would remove the clot that is being formed.

4. Smoking and dry socket.  The patient should try not to smoke within the first 48 hours.  The longer do not smoke until the socket has healed the better.  For most people, they will fully heal within 10 days.  Smoking can cause inflammation in the gum socket area that is healing after the tooth extraction and can interfere with the extraction socket healing process.

What to do if have a dry socket?

Best to see your local dentist see what is going on and if you do have a dry socket. Try to keep the area clean, but do not poke into the socket or dislodge any clot that may be starting to form.  Your dentist may place some medicated dressings inside the dry socket area.  Try not to smoke as this may delay healing.  Some people try to use medicated gauzes with various materials such as clove oil, etc., though this is not as good as seeing a local dentist.  Best is to have a dental professional check it out.  Do not want to keep spitting out a clot as that can contribute to not allowing the socket to heal.  Your dentist may recommend antibiotics if notice an  infection.  Usually, within a week to 10 days, dry socket pain should subside.  Usually, the dry socket will heal though sometimes an infection is possible because of it.  Best to have your local dentist keep an eye on it and make sure it is healed well.

We get asked may local dry socket questions such as can I get a dry socket after a couple of days? Here is some Interesting dry socket information that may be useful.  Usually, the extraction socket area where the tooth has been removed from takes about a week to 10 days to heal.  This can vary from patient to patient.  So, someone after 4 or 5 days can have a dry socket problem, if the area has not healed yet.  Normally, the dry socket problem or dry socket pain happens within the first 3 days after a tooth extraction - though it is possible to happen later. Tooth extraction question - if have tooth extraction questions, can ask our dentists for dental answers.

Using Teledentistry Consult - now local dentists can use TeleDental Service to live video dental chat with their patients. If you are a dental office, Adding TeleDentistry Consulting to your dental practice can be a great benefit.  Also, can Add Dental ChatBot to your dental website.

Wisdom teeth extraction 

Wisdom teeth (third molars) can cause a lot of tooth pain and dental problems for people.  Because the third molar is so far in the back of the mouth, it is a fairly hard area for many people to keep clean.  That is, maintaining good oral hygiene in the third molar area of the mouth can be hard to brush properly and can be hard to floss for many people. 

Due to this lack of good oral hygiene, many people will experience gum inflammation or have gum disease problems around the wisdom teeth areas of their mouth.  Third molars usually start to grow in around the age of 16, 17 or 18 years old for most people - though this can vary widely.  Some people have wisdom teeth that are permanently impacted under their gums. These impacted third molars can be viewed by dentists by using dental x-rays or pan x-ray machines.  Pan x-rays are usually the best to see what is going on with impacted third molars.  

Impacted Wisdom Tooth Problem 

Just because a wisdom tooth is impacted and not seen, does not necessarily mean that the wisdom tooth does not need to be extracted.  After taking dental x-rays, if your dentist or oral surgeon notices that the impacted wisdom tooth is bothering the second molars or maybe causing gum inflammation - then, your dentist or oral surgeon may recommend to have the third molar(s) extracted. 

These oral surgery procedures for impacted third molars can be more complicated.  An experienced dentist or oral surgeon can do this procedure though in a rather routine way.  As with any dental surgery or oral surgery procedure, complications are always possible.  Best to do a good dental consult and dental treatment plan before having this procedure.

Many people have Wisdom Teeth Problem Question they like to ask local dentists.  Here is a Local Emergency Dentist Post link if have a third molar pain question. or Wisdom Tooth Problems occur for many people.  In this Local Emergency Dentists Chat article - we did online tooth extraction chat, avoiding a dry socket blog, post-op tooth extraction chatting, online wisdom tooth removal info discussion and local third molar pain blogging online at DentalChat.  We have many local dentist blogs for our readers to get interesting dental information.